Djoko Suyanto
Quick Facts
Biography
Air Chief Marshal Djoko Suyanto (born December 2, 1950 in Madiun, East Java) was the Commander-in-Chief of the National Armed Forces (TNI) of Indonesia from 2006 to 2007. He is currently in the senior cabinet position of Coordinating Minister for Legal, Political and Security Affairs.
Suyanto graduated from the Indonesian Air Force Academy (Akademi Angkatan Udara, AAU) in 1973 and rapidly gained his pilot's brevet. He underwent further training Australia and the United States, where he trained at the United States Air Force Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base, before becoming a flying instructor. He then served successively as the commander of No. 14 (Air Combat) Squadron flying F-5 Tiger II, the commander of Iswahyudi Air Force Base, the commander of the National Air Defense Sector and the commander of the Air Force Education Command.
Djoko Suyanto was appointed as the Air Force's territorial commander for the whole of eastern Indonesia in 2001. Two years later he took up the post of Operational Assistant at Air Force Headquarters and in 2005 he was appointed Chief of the Air Staff. When, in 2006, Djoko Suyanto became Commander-in-Chief of the Indonesian Armed Forces, he was the first Air Force officer to hold this post.
Air Marshal Djoko Suyanto is known as one of Indonesia’s best fighter pilots.
At his confirmation hearing he was quoted as saying:
In September 2006, Suyanto complained of human rights objections to the New York Agreement trading of West New Guinea to Indonesia stating "I get information from our representative in the UN that some NGOs have begun persuading bishop Desmond Tutu to help them lobbying Papua case in the UN," and "We must be alert on the move of the NGO's that use famous people for their goal of breaking Papua from Indonesia."