Suharto

1921 – He was born on the 8th day of June this year in Kemusuk village in Central Java.

1940 – He became the battalion commander in the Japanese "self defense corps" when Japan invaded and defeated the Dutch in World War 2.  In the 1960's, he rose to power in relative obscurity as a middle ranking army officer after helping to crush an abortive but bloody leftist coup.

1962 – He headed a military operation to recover West Irian (now the province of Papua; formerly Irian Jaya) from the Dutch.

1963 – On this year, he was put in charge of the army’s strategic command, a special force kept on alert for national emergencies.

1965 - When a group of dissident pro-Communist army and air force troops attempted to seize control of the government in Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, in October this year, he successfully suppressed them. Although he was not Indonesia’s dominant military leader at the time, Suharto outmaneuvered his military competitors for power during the succeeding months.

1966 – He takes over temporary power as President of The Republic of Indonesia. Eventually, Suharto became the President of The Republic of Indonesia.

1968 - He was elected full president by the parliament in this year. He also developed a strong government party and his government, known as the New Order, restricted opposition, and allied country with the West.

1973 – He was re-elected to successive five-year terms in this year, in 1978, in 1983, in 1988, and in 1993,

1997 - Suharto was concluding his sixth five-year term of office and had not given any indication that he was contemplating retirement.

1998 - Suharto was elected to a seventh term. His cabinet appointments mostly loyalists unlikely to challenge his authority or push for change sparked demonstrations by university students calling for democratic reforms. In May police shot six students at a demonstration, triggering two days of arson and looting in Jakarta in which about 500 people died.