Indonesia

Famous Indonesian People: Indonesian Artists, Scientists, Leaders, Musicians, Politicians and Athletes

Indonesia is a melting pot of cultures, ethnicities and religions with outstanding individuals who made a difference with their remarkable achievements. The following Indonesians made their mark on both the local and international scenes.

:: List of Famous People from Indonesia ::

Gajah Mada
According to Javanese old manuscripts, poems and mythology, Gajah Mada was a powerful military leader and mahapatih or prime minister of the Majapahit Empire, credited with bringing the empire to its peak of glory. He delivered an oath called Sumpah Palapa, in which he vowed not to eat any food containing spices until he had conquered all of the Southeast Asian archipelago of Nusantara for Majapahit. In modern Indonesia, he serves as an important national hero and a symbol of patriotism.

Hayam Wuruk
Hayam Wuruk was a Javanese King and the fourth monarch of Majapahit Empire. Together with his Prime Minister Gajah Mada, he reigned the empire at the time of its greatest power.

Ratu Joyoboyo
Ratu Joyoboyo, also Sri Mapanji Jayabaya or Jayabhaya, was King also known as Ratu of the Indianized kingdom Hindu Kediri in East Java from AD1135 to 1157. is most famous for his oracles or prophesies attributed to him, namely the Serat Jayabaya Musarar, Serat Pranitiwakya, and some debatable others. The manggala (prologue) of the famous Kakawin Bharatayuddha names King Joyoboyo as the patron of the two poets, Mpu Sedah and Mpu Panuluh who were the authors of the work. Joyoboyo is also attributed as author of the Pralembang Joyoboyo, a prophetic book that played an important role in the Japanese occupation.

Sabdapalon
Sabdapalon was a priest and adviser to Brawijaya V, the last ruler of the Hindu empire Majapahit in Java. He was mentioned in Darmagandhul, a Javanese spiritual story. He was also said to have cursed his king upon the conversion of the latter to Islam in 1478. Sabdapalon then promised to return, after 500 years and at a time of widespread political corruption and natural disasters, to sweep Islam from the island and restore Hindu-Javanese religion and civilization. Some of the first new Hindu temples built in Java were indeed completed around 1978, for example Pura Blambangan in the regency of Banyuwangi. As the prophecies foretold, Mt. Semeru erupted around the same time. All this is taken as evidence of the accuracy of Sabdapalon’s predictions.

Sukarno
Sukarno was the leader of his country’s struggle for independence from the Netherlands and was Indonesia’s first President from 1945 to 1967. He was forced out of power and replaced by one of his generals, Suharto, and remained under house arrest until his death.

Suharto
Suharto was the second President of Indonesia, having held the office for 31 years from 1967 following Sukarno’s removal until his resignation in 1998. In Indonesian literature and media, he was sometimes referred as Pak Harto.

Raden Saleh Sjarif Boestaman
Raden Saleh was one of the best known painters from Indonesia and a pioneer of modern Indonesian art. Born into a noble Javanese family, he was considered to be the first modern artist from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), and his paintings corresponded with nineteenth-century romanticism which was popular in Europe at the time. He also expressed his cultural roots and inventiveness in his work.

Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana
Sutan Takdir became one of Indonesian literature’s guiding lights in its formative years, particularly in the time around independence. He believed that Indonesia could learn from the values of western civilization and remained a great exponent of modernism throughout his life.

Chairil Anwar
Chairil Anwar was an Indonesian poet and member of the “1945 generation” of writers. His poems were circulated on cheap paper during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia and were not published until 1945

Rudy Hartono Kurniawan
Rudy Hartono is a former Chinese Indonesian badminton player who won the men’s singles title at the World Championship in 1980, and the prestigious All-England Championship trophy eight times, seven times consecutively (1968–1974), in the 1960s and 1970s. He is one of the most famous players in the history of the sport.