Biography of BJ Habibie – Sinaumed’s must be familiar with the figure of BJ Habibie. Many have written biographies of BJ Habibie and even filmed his life story. He is an extraordinary inspirational figure for the people of Indonesia.
Profile of BJ Habibie
Name : Prof. Dr. -Ing. H. Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie
Popular Nickname : BJ Habibie
Wife : Hasri Ainun Besari
Place, Date, Birth : Pare-pare, 25 June 1936
Term of Office of President : 21 May 1998 Until 20 October 1999
Educational History : SMAK Dago, Bandung, Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), RWTH Aachen
Children’s Names : Ilham Akbar, Thareq Kemal
Full name Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie was born in Pare-Pare City, South Sulawesi on June 25, 1936. Before becoming an influential person for the Indonesian nation, BJ Habibie had studied at SMAK Dago, Bandung, in 1954 and went on to tertiary education at the Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB).
Because of his intelligence and intelligence, BJ Habibie finally continued his studies in Germany with his other friends. Unlike his friends who used scholarships to study in Germany, BJ Habibie used funds from his mother, RA Tuti Marini Puspowardojo.
His decision to study in Germany was due to Bung Karno’s advice on the importance of mastering national technology, namely maritime technology and aerospace technology when Indonesia was still developing at that time.
BJ Habibie finally chose to major in Aviation Engineering specializing in Aircraft Construction at the Rhein Westfalen Aachen Technische Hochschule, Germany in 1955.
It was from here that BJ Habibie learned to master technology and became an aircraft expert who first created airplanes in Indonesia. So do not be surprised if he is called the father of Indonesian technology because of his extraordinary work.
There are many lessons that we can take from the life story or biography of BJ Habibie. Even though BJ Habibie’s presidential term was very short, he was one of the national figures who brought the national spirit and intellectual change to the Indonesian people.
So that Sinaumed’s can learn a lesson and be inspired by his life story, let’s get to know BJ Habibie from his short biography below.
BJ Habibie’s Childhood
BJ Habibie’s childhood was in Pare-pare, South Sulawesi with his mother, father and seven siblings. Alwi Abdul Jalil Habibie is the father of BJ Habibie who is an agricultural expert from Gorontalo and the mother named RA Tuti Marini Puspowardojo who is an ophthalmologist from Yogyakarta.
Of eight children, BJ Habibie was the fourth child who grew up in a religious family. BJ Habibie’s childhood was very familiar with his father’s reading of the Koran which made him calm. That is why at the age of 3 years, BJ Habibie was fluent in reading the Al-Quran. BJ Habibie was known as a smart kid from his childhood.
BJ Habibie was abandoned by his father and died when he was very young, namely 14 years. From there the mother had to fend for herself to continue living with her eight children. Since the departure of his father, BJ Habibie’s family finally moved to Bandung.
BJ Habibie’s Education Period
Because he is known as an intellectual, it would be incomplete if he did not know BJ Habibie’s educational background. Because BJ Habibie had grown up to be a smart kid since he was young, even at school he was a smart student.
SMAK Dago Bandung is the school where BJ Habibie received his education until then he continued to tertiary education at ITB, which at that time was still called the University of Indonesia Bandung. BJ Habibie only studied for a year at ITB then continued his studies in Germany for 10 years.
When Habibie was still a student at ITB, President Soekarno’s government was intensively financing the nation’s children to study abroad and study abroad. Of the hundreds of students who received scholarships and went to Germany, BJ Habibie was included in the second group who went to Germany without a state scholarship in 1955.
It was his mother who paid for BJ Habibie to study at the Department of Aviation Engineering, specializing in Aircraft Construction at the Rhein Westfalen Aachen Technische Hochschule Germany.
Gaining knowledge that he traveled abroad was not short and easy. For many years BJ Habibie studied at RWTH Aachen while working practically. Initially, the motivation that he brought to study in Germany was that BJ Habibie was interested in building a commercial airplane according to Soekarno’s idea.
Finally, the company PT PAL emerged, namely IPTN at that time. Besides that, BJ Habibie’s biggest motivation for success also came from his mother, who had struggled to pay for her education and living abroad, which was not cheap.
In 1960 BJ Habibie successfully completed his studies for his Ing Diploma at the Technische Hochschule with a perfect predicate or Cum Laude with an average score of 9.5. This Engineer degree allowed him to work at the Talbot Firm, the Railway Industry in Germany.
The company really needs the Wagon to transport light goods in large quantities. BJ Habibie also constructed the tools needed by the German Railway Industry wagon by making airplane wings. The method was fruitful and really helped the company’s needs.
BJ Habibie’s biography regarding his educational history continues because he continued his doctoral degree while still in Germany, namely the Technische Hochschule Die Fakultät de Fuer Maschinenwesen Aachen.
While pursuing his doctoral education, in 1962 BJ Habibie finally married Hasri Ainun and brought him to Germany. His life is said to be very simple and difficult because he has to save money and work late into the night.
Even though BJ Habibie also had to keep studying and completing his college assignments. Ainun, his wife also lives a simple life in order to save expenses by queuing to wash clothes in public places.
BJ Habibie’s efforts and hard work finally paid off where he graduated with his Doctor Ingenieur degree at the Technische Hochschule Hochschule Die Fakultät de Fuer Maschinenwesen with the predicate Cum Laude or Very Perfect whose average grade is 10. The figure of BJ Habibie is indeed a very genius expert.
BJ Habibie, Nicknamed the Father of Indonesian Technology
Another interesting story from BJ Habibie’s biography is his genius in discovering the Crack propagation theory which was eventually named the Habibie Factor formula. The Habibie Factor formula is the formula used to calculate the cracks to the atoms of airplanes.
With the right calculation, the aircraft material can be stronger and more precise. The theory created by BJ Habibie is very important because at that time there were still many plane crashes caused by structural failures.
This formula made BJ Habibie nicknamed Mr. Crack. Because of his genius, BJ Habibie also received the title of Honorary Professor or Professor title from ITB and the high award of Ganesha Praja Manggala.
Apart from coming from within the country, recognition from international institutions, such as Gesellschaft Luft und Raumfahrt (aviation institute in Germany), The Royal Aeronautical Society London England, The Academie Nationale de l’Air et de l’Espace France , The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences Sweden, and The US Academy of Engineering United States .
Even BJ Habibie has received prestigious awards that are almost equivalent to the Nobel Prize, namely the Edward Warner Award and the Von Karman Award. This revolutionary figure was admired by many people, even when BJ Habibie visited Germany he never escaped the news.
Before taking part in politics, BJ Habibie was known first as a genius aircraft technology expert in Indonesia. In 1973 Suharto sent Ibnu Sutowo to go to Germany and meet BJ Habibie so he could make a career in Indonesia. So a year after the arrival of Ibnu Sutowo, BJ Habibie returned to Indonesia and started his career at the Nurtanio Aircraft Industry Institute (LIPNUR) as a leader.
In 1976 the company changed to Nurtanio Aircraft Industry (IPTN) until 2000 it changed again to PT Dirgantara Indonesia. In 1978, Suharto also appointed BJ Habibie to serve as Minister of State for Research and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia and he also held this position for 20 years. Referring to the 1997 book Indonesia’s Industrial Transformation , BJ Habibie used a unique approach when creating the aircraft industry in Indonesia.
IPTN under the control of BJ Habibie succeeded in developing the technology of a number of aircraft, namely the CN235, N250 and N2130. BJ Habibie’s most legendary work is N250 or also known as Gatotkaca which aired for the first time in 1995.
Gatotkaca is the only turboprop aircraft that uses fly by wire technology created by BJ Habibie. Because of his extraordinary work for Indonesian technology, shortly after his death, Jokowi stated that BJ Habibie was the Father of Indonesian Technology as well as a revolutionary statesman.
BJ Habibie’s political career
BJ Habibie’s political career began when he returned to Indonesia in 1974 on Suharto’s orders. Starting in 1978 BJ Habibie was appointed as Minister of Research and Technology for 10 decades until March 1998 during the reign of President Soeharto. In addition, he also led a 10-year strategic BUMN Industry company.
Starting in 1998, to be precise on March 14, BJ Habibie was appointed as the 7th Vice President accompanying Suharto in the VII Development Cabinet until May 21, 1998 when Suharto stepped down from his presidential position. Habibie’s work as vice president was quite short, which you can read in the book Series Leaders of the Nation – BJ Habibie the Last New Order Vice President.
After Soeharto’s resignation, BJ Habibie was appointed as the 3rd President of Indonesia at the age of 62 with a short term of office, from 1 May 1998 to 20 October 1999.
When BJ Habibie served as president, on August 30, 1999 Indonesia lost East Timor from the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia and became a separate country. However, BJ Habibie managed to resolve the issue peacefully, namely holding a poll for East Timorese to choose independence or remain part of Indonesia. His decision was controversial by Indonesian experts and politicians.
Term of Office of President BJ Habibie
Despite his short tenure as President of the Republic of Indonesia, his work cannot be underestimated. After the fall of Suharto, the Indonesian state was in an economic crisis and riots occurred everywhere.
You could say he was inherited from the position when Indonesia was in a state of chaos and concern where many regions and regions wanted to break away from Indonesia. In the Reformation Era, with the instability and disintegration after the May 1998 riots in several regions in Indonesia, BJ Habibie had to oversee all this chaos.
BJ Habibie swiftly formed a new cabinet with important roles in order to return the support of international monetary funds and the donor country community to restore the Indonesian economy at that time. BJ Habibie also freed several Suharto-era political prisoners and reduced controls on freedom of expression and organizational activities.
That is what makes this figure special, he is still trying to rebuild a better Indonesian nation. Several forms of policies and decisions made by BJ Habibie are very valuable for the Indonesian nation, namely the Law on Regional Autonomy, the Anti-Monopoly Law (the Fair Competition Law), and freeing its people to participate in many political parties.
BJ Habibie also succeeded in increasing the dollar exchange rate to the Indonesian rupiah from 10 thousand rupiahs to 15 thousand rupiahs during the economic crisis before 1998. In addition, he also succeeded in completing the liquidation of troubled banks at that time due to Indonesia’s chaotic economic conditions.
In 1999 BJ Habibie was forced to step down because his responsibility was not accepted at the general session of the MPR for the release of East Timor from the Republic of Indonesia. KH Abdurrahman Wahid eventually replaced him as the 4th President of the Republic of Indonesia.
BJ Habibie became an ordinary citizen and returned to live in Germany, although he occasionally visited Indonesia.
However, since the reign of SBY, BJ Habibie has been active again in Indonesia as an adviser to the democratic process in Indonesia in the organization he created, namely the Habibie Center. Apart from that, BJ Habibie is also Chairman of the Advisory Board in the Golkar Party.
BJ Habibie’s Love Story
Discussing BJ Habibie’s biography cannot be separated from his love story with his wife which is very touching. BJ Habibie once said that Mrs. Ainun was his eyes to see life.
Sinaumed’s can also find the complete story of Hasri Ainus Habibie as an irreplaceable figure in BJ Habibie’s life in the book BJ Habibie-Habibie’s Soulmate.
Ibu Ainun was a filler of love for BJ Habibie’s life when it was hard and until BJ Habibie was established. 48 Until BJ Habibie’s mother Ainun died, they were always together. Mrs. Ainun always faithfully accompanied BJ Habibie and accompanied him patiently and lovingly.
On May 22, 2010, BJ Habibie lost Hasri Ainun, his beloved wife who died of ovarian cancer. Previously, BJ Habibie never knew that his wife had ovarian cancer because Ms. Ainun never once complained to her.
BJ Habibie only found out 3 days before Ainun’s mother left, that’s when he felt hurt. BJ Habibie also wrote a book entitled Habibie & Ainun with a thickness of 323 pages as a form of his love for his late wife.
That book was later appointed to the big screen with the same film title as the book title. BJ Habibie’s biographical film premiered in Indonesia in December 2012 with the story of his visionary figure and the romance of his love story with Mrs. Ainun.
The film was directed by Hanung Bramantyo and Faozan Rizal and played by Reza Rahardian and Bunga Citra Lestari, which successfully attracted the attention of the Indonesian public of 4.5 million viewers. The following are recommendations for books in the sinaumedia collection that Sinaumed’s can read about the extraordinary romance of BJ Habibie and Mrs. Ainun.
So, that’s the biography of BJ Habibie that Sinaumed’s can know to emulate BJ Habibie’s inspirational stories. His passing on September 11 2019 made many Indonesian people lose his extraordinary figure.
BJ Habibie is a meritorious figure for the history of the Indonesian nation. That is why there is much that can be learned from genius ideas and stories of their struggles. sinaumedia friends can visit the sinaumedia website at www.sinaumedia.com to see a collection of various books about BJ Habibie. Happy Learning #Friends Without Limits