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Former president Suharto (R) stands next to his oldest daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana (file picture) |
Mr Suharto ruled Indonesia for 32 years.
He was known as the country's Father of Development for his efforts in bringing millions of Indonesians out of the poverty trap. But his policies of favouring the conglomerates with links to his family and friends proved to be his undoing.
He resigned in 1998 amid political upheaval and a crippling economic crisis that triggered widespread opposition to his regime.After his downfall Mr Suharto rarely appeared in public,living in seclusion in Jakarta's leafy Menteng neighbourhood, fighting law suits and ill health.
Suharto has been in and out of hospital for various ailments in recent years, including at least two strokes and stomach problems.
His last trip to hospital for serious reasons was in May 2006, when he was rushed in for treatment following a bout of intestinal bleeding and spent almost a month there.
Following the death in 1996 of his wife Siti Hartinah Suharto,better known as Tien Suharto, the former president surrounded himself with his children. Eldest daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana was often by his side although his youngest and reputedly favourite son, Hutomo Mandala Putra, popularly known as Tommy was well-known. Prosecutors have brought a multi-million-dollar civil law suit against Tommy in a land scam case. He has also been named as a suspect in a criminal case that involves a state monopoly he used to head.
Suharto steered Indonesia from being a fractious economic backwater to an icon of development, until the 1997 Asian economic crisis unravelled much of the progress and exposed the devastating impact corruption had wrought on the nation.
Suharto has been accused of being one of the 20th century's worst kleptocrats by amassing billions of dollars for himself, his family and cronies while in power. A criminal trial against him was abandoned on health grounds, though a civil suit is currently being heard. The government is seeking 1.4 billion dollars in damages and returned assets allegedly accrued through a charitable foundation Suharto chaired while in power.
With Mr Suharto out of the picture, the country underwent a transformation.
That resulted in a new political, social and economic landscapes collectively known as the Era of Reformasi.
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