Sukarno, << soo KAHR noh >> (1901-1970), also spelled Soekarno, was Indonesia’s first president, serving from 1945 to 1967. He founded the Indonesian National Party (P.N.I.) in 1927 to end Dutch colonial rule.
In 1945, Sukarno created national principles called Pancasila to unify the diverse country and to block demands for an Islamic state. In 1955, Sukarno helped found the Non-Aligned Movement, a political group of developing nations. In 1957, with the help of the United States Central Intelligence Agency, rebel movements began. In response, Sukarno closed parliament in 1959 and imposed a system called “guided democracy.”
In 1964, Sukarno sent forces into newly independent Malaysia to challenge the United Kingdom’s influence there. In 1965, he withdrew Indonesia from the United Nations after Malaysia’s election to the Security Council. In 1966, Lieutenant General Suharto overthrew Sukarno after a failed coup blamed on Indonesian Communists. Sukarno kept the title of president until 1967.
Sukarno was born on June 6, 1901, in Surabaya, on the island of Java. Sukarno died on June 21, 1970. His oldest daughter, Megawati Sukarnoputri, served as president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004.
