August 18, 1945: Indonesia names president

On this day in 1945, Sukarno was appointed as the first president of independent Indonesia. (Many Indonesians have just one name.)

Sukarno had led the struggle for Indonesian self-sovereignty from the Netherlands. He spent a decade under house arrest until the Japanese occupied the country during World War II.

On August 17, 1945 – just two days after Japan announced its surrender – Indonesia became independent, with Sukarno becoming president the next day. Originally, Indonesia was to be ruled by Sharia law, but Sukarno’s vice president, nationalist leader Mohammad Hatta, scuttled the idea for the sake of national unity.

Sukarno implemented autocratic rule in 1957 (called “Guided Democracy”) but was overthrown by one of his generals, Suharto, in 1965, possibly with Western help. He spent his final two years under house arrest once again.

Image: image signed by Sukarno, via Wikimedia Commons.