JAKARTA (Yosefardi) – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has sworn in General Moeldoko as new Commander of Military replacing Admiral Agus Suhartono, who enters his mandatory retirement age. SBY also sworn in Lieutenant General Budiman as new Army Chief of Staff (KSAD) replacing General Moeldoko.
The inauguration ceremony took place this morning (Aug 30) at 10 am at the State Palace, Jakarta. This is the second promotion for Moeldoko in only the last three months.
As reported earlier, Moeldoko, the sole candidate for the Commander of Military, has easily passed the fit & proper test held by the House of Representatives (DPR) last week. Moeldoko has just served as Army Chief of Staff (KSAD) for three months replacing General (ret) Pramono Edhie Wibowo (brother-in-law of Presidet SBY). Previously, he assisted Pramono as Deputy Army Chief of Staff.
Prior to that, Moeldoko served as Deputy Governor of the National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas). He has also served as Commander of Military Area III (Pangdam) Siliwangi in West Java, Commander of Military Area VII Tanjungpura in West Kalimantan, and Commander of Military Area Greater Jakarta.
Born in Kediri, East Java on July 8, 1957, Moeldoko was awarded with the Adi Makayasa medal as the best graduate of the Military Academy in 1981. He has one wife, Koesni Harningsih, and two children. (haryantos@yosefardi.biz)