Joko Widodo

Joko Widodo jō´kō wē´dōdō [key], 1961–, Indonesian businessman and politician. The son of a furniture maker, he studied forestry at Gadjah Mada Univ. and ran a furniture exporting business before entering politics in 2005 as a member of Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic party of Struggle (PDI-P). He served two terms as mayor of the city of Surakarta (2005–12), his hometown, before being elected governor of Jakarta in 2012. In a country with widespread corruption, Jokowijōkōwē´ [key] was regarded as a clean politician, popular with the common people and with youth. In 2014, Megawati chose not to run for president and Jokowi became the PDI-P candidate, defeating former general Prabowo Subianto. He became the first Indonesian president not to come from the country's political or military elite. He again defeated Subianto in 2019 to win reelection.

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