B. J. Habibie
Indonesian Aircraft Engineer & Politician - 3rd President of Indonesia
Here's a time line of B.J. Habibie's life:
- 1936 - Born in Parepare, South Sulawesi
- 1960 - Received an engineer's degree in Germany with the title Diplom-Ingenieur. He remained in Germany as a research assistant under Hans Ebner at the Lehrstuhl und Institut für Leichtbau, RWTH Aachen to conduct research for his doctoral degree.
- 1962 - Returned to Indonesia for three months on sick leave. During this time, he was reacquainted with Hasri Ainun, the daughter of R. Mohamad Besari. Habibie had known Hasri Ainun in childhood, junior high school and in senior high school at SMA Kristen Dago (Dago Christian Senior High School), Bandung. The two married on 12 May 1962, returning to Germany shortly afterwards
- 1963 - Habibie and his wife settled in Aachen for a short period before moving to Oberforstbach. In May 1963 they had a son, Ilham Akbar Habibie.
- 1965 - Habibie delivered his dissertation in aerospace engineering and received the grade of "very good," giving him the title Doktoringenieur (Dr.-Ing.). The same year, he accepted Hans Ebner's offer to continue his research on Thermoelastisitas and work toward his Habilitation, but he declined the offer to join RWTH as a professor. His thesis about light construction for supersonic or hypersonic states also attracted offers of employment from companies such as Boeing and Airbus, which Habibie again declined.
- 1974 - Suharto recruited Habibie to return to Indonesia as part of his drive to industrialize and develop the country. Habibie initially served as a special assistant to Ibnu Sutowo, chief executive officer of the state oil company Pertamina and Chair of Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (Indonesian: Badan Pengkajian dan Penerapan Teknologi, BPPT)
- 1976 - Habibie was made CEO of the new state-owned enterprise Industri Pesawat Terbang Nurtanio (IPTN; Nurtanio Aircraft Industry),[19] which in 1985 changed its name to Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (Nusantara Aircraft Industry; also abbreviated as IPTN) and is known as Indonesian Aerospace (PT. Dirgantara Indonesia) since 2000)
- 1978 - he was appointed as State Minister of Research and Technology (Indonesian: Menteri Negara Riset dan Teknologi, Menristek). He continued to play an important role in IPTN other "strategic" industries in this post.
- 1980s - IPTN had grown considerably, specializing in the manufacture of helicopters and small passenger planes. Under Habibie's leadership, IPTN became a manufacturer of aircraft including Puma helicopters and CASA planes. It pioneered a small passenger airplane, the N-250 Gatotkaca, in 1995, but the project was a commercial failure.
- 1991 - Habibie oversaw ten state-owned industries including ship- and train-building, steel, arms, communications, and energy.
- 1998 - After accepting nomination for a seventh term as President, Suharto announced the selection criteria for the nomination of a vice president. Suharto did not mention Habibie by name, but his suggestion that the next vice president should have a mastery of science and technology made it obvious he had Habibie in mind.
- 1998 - Habibie, as the Constitution says, succeeded him as president. The following day, Habibie announced the Development Reform Cabinet, which removed some of the most controversial ministers in Suharto's last cabinet while maintaining others - with no major figures from the opposition. Within days of his appointment, he asked his relatives to resign from government positions, promised an early election, repealed some legislation, and ordered the release of political prisoners.
- 2006 - Released a book called Detik-Detik Yang Menentukan: Jalan Panjang Indonesia Menuju Demokrasi (Decisive Moments: Indonesia's Long Road Towards Democracy). The book recalled the events of May 1998 which led to his rise to the Presidency. In the book, he controversially accused Lieutenant General Prabowo Subianto, Suharto's son-in-law (at that time) and the Kostrad Commander, of planning a coup d'état against him in May 1998.
- 2019 - He was admitted to Gatot Soebroto Army Hospital, where he was undergoing treatments for heart problems, namely cardiomyopathy, and died on 11 September 2019. He became the first Indonesian President to be buried at the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery, next to his wife's grave.
- 2019 - dies at the age of 83.
"Profound Condolences – With heartfelt sympathy for the loss of Big Brother President B.J. Habibie – Timorese people will remember you forever – Rest in Peace - "
-- Xanana Gusmão, East Timor's former President