PROFILBARU.COM

General (Ret.)
Ryamizard Ryacudu
General (Ret.) Ryamizard Ryacudu
	Official portrait, 2014
25th Minister of Defense
	In office; 27 October 2014 – 20 October 2019
President	Joko Widodo
Preceded by	Purnomo Yusgiantoro
Succeeded by	Prabowo Subianto
23rd Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army
	In office; 4 June 2002 – 18 February 2005
President	Megawati Sukarnoputri; Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono;
Preceded by	Endriartono Sutarto
Succeeded by	Djoko Santoso
26th Commander of Army Strategic Reserve Command
	In office; 1 August 2000 – 4 June 2002
President	Abdurrahman Wahid; Megawati Sukarnoputri;
Preceded by	Agus Wirahadikusumah
Succeeded by	Bibit Waluyo
Personal details
Born	21 April 1950 (age 74); Palembang, Indonesia
Spouse	Nora Tristyana
Children	3
Alma mater	Indonesian Military Academy
Military service
Allegiance	Indonesia
Branch/service	Indonesian Army
Years of service	1974–2005
Rank	General
Unit	Infantry
Battles/wars	Operation Lotus; Insurgency in Aceh; Papua conflict;

General (Ret.) Ryamizard Ryacudu id ^ⓘ (born 21 April 1950) is an Indonesian politician who served as the Minister of Defense of Indonesia from 2014 until 2019. He previously served as Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army from 2002 to 2005, and was Commander of Army Strategic Command from 2000 to 2002.^[1]

Early life and family

Ryamizard Ryacudu was born in Palembang on 21 April 1950 as the eldest child of Major General Musannif Ryacudu, a well known figure in Lampung and a general acquainted to Sukarno.^[1] His father is also a descendant of an Islamic preacher who spread Islam in Lampung. He was married to Nora Tristyana, daughter to former Vice President of Indonesia Try Sutrisno. His younger brother, Syamsura Ryacudu serves as Governor of Lampung between 2008 and 2009.

Military career

Following the footsteps of his father, Ryamizard enrolled in the Indonesian Military Academy (Akabri) and graduated on 1974.^[2] He rose in the ranks as a platoon commander in Kodam XII/Tanjungpura on 15 November 1976, later promoted gradually to company commander, staff of battalion operations and battalion commander.^[3] He was first deployed in combat against North Kalimantan Communist Party between 1976-1982.^[4]

He rose to prominence in his military career after becoming the commander of Kodam V/Brawijaya in 1999 and later Kodam Jayakarta.^[5] During the shakeup of the political elite during Gus Dur's presidency that led up to his impeachment, Ryamizard threatened to take action against whoever was trying to disturb the peace.^[6] Distinguished in his role as commander of Kodam Jayakarta, Ryamizard was promoted to lieutenant general and became the Commander of Army Strategic Reserve Command, taking over from Agus Wirahadikusumah.^[6]

As the Kostrad commander, he once led an alert call on 23 July 2001 during the Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), leading and coordinating soldiers from all three branches of the armed forces. Ryamizard clarified that the alert call was to prevent any violence resulting from political chaos such as the May 1998 riots. However, he stated that the TNI would remain neutral as the special session of the MPR was not their concern.^[7] His ability to coordinate together with the Indonesian Navy and Indonesian Air Force rewarded him with an appointment as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army and later Chief of Staff of the Army replacing Endriartono Sutarto.^[6]

When he was Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army, he was once surrounded by enemy forces. On 20 February 2005, he led a delegation to oversee a bridge reconstruction after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami when he got ambushed by 20 rebel soldiers of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).^[8]^[9] As both sides engaged, Ryamizard armed himself with a MP5 submachine gun and joined TNI soldiers in returning fire and pursuing GAM forces for 30 minutes. As GAM soldiers retreated to nearby swamps and hills, Ryamizard instructed the soldiers to be on guard.^[9] A former GAM soldier once remarked in the encounter that if given the chance, Ryamizard would have been hit as they were in close combat radius of 4 meters within the general, but they choose not to shoot him due to Ryamizard's contribution in rebuilding Aceh.^[10] When this occurred, Ryamizard was on his final days of his tenure as he was scheduled to hand over his position to Lieutenant General Djoko Santoso at the end of February.^[9]

He was nominated as Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces at the end of Megawati Sukarnoputri's tenure as president. However, during the transition of power to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his nomination was annulled with Endriartono Sutarto's command extended. Eventually, he was skipped over in favor of Air Chief Marshal Djoko Suyanto due to his annulled nomination.^[11]^[12]

Political career

Ryamizard was regarded as "Megawati's man".^[13] His nomination as Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces was nullified by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who choose to extend Endriartono Sutarto's tenure.^[11] This rejection sparked a rumor of personal conflict between Ryamizard and Yudhoyono, which Abdurrahman Wahid speculated to be true.^[14] After retiring from his military career, Ryamizard initially did not want to enter into politics. However in 2008, when he participated in a declaration by National Assembly of Indonesia organization, he had stated he will consider to be a presidential candidate should he get popular support.^[15] On 27 January, 2009, he was invited to PDI-P national party congress, replacing Hidayat Nur Wahid whose invite got revoked, leading to speculations that Megawati will potentially name Ryamizard as her running mate in the 2009 Indonesian presidential election.^[16]^[17]

His vice presidential candidacy rumors surfaced once more when he was named one of the options for Joko Widodo's running mate,^[18] although the choice ultimately went to Jusuf Kalla. Regardless, Ryamizard Ryacudu endorsed Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla^[19] and helped in their campaign by giving campaign advices to volunteers during the 2014 Indonesian presidential election.^[20] Jokowi later appointed Ryamizard as Minister of Defense in his Working Cabinet.

Minister of Defense

Ryamizard is appointed as Minister of Defense on 27 October 2014.^[21] His appointment was opposed by military analysts who viewed that ex-military officials may slow down progress on the military as they may create bias in favor of the military branch they serve in.^[22] His appointment was criticized by human rights activist as he commit human right violations in his military career.^[23]

As a minister, Ryamizard focuses more on military reforms and internal stability. In his tenure, he prioritize the armed forces to handle domestic threats, including terrorism and radicalism.^[24] He also prioritize bilateral military cooperation especially between countries such as Australia and United States.^[24]

His ministerial tenure oversaw the sale of Tarlac-class landing platform dock to the Philippine Navy and numerous aircraft sales to numerous African countries. Hailing it as an achievement, Ryamizard pushed for advancements within the defense industry of Indonesia and rely less on foreign imports.^[25]

References

^ ^a ^b Pagi Ini Ryamizard Ryacudu Dilantik
^ Matanasi, Petrik (2019-04-11). "Sejarah Hidup Ryamizard Ryacudu: Dulu Kawan Prabowo, Kini Beda Kubu". tirto.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2024-10-29.
^ "Profil Jenderal Tni Purn Ryamizard Ryacudu - VIVA". www.viva.co.id (in Indonesian). 2016-10-28. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
^ Retaduari, Elza Astari (January 19, 2022). "Ryamizard Ryacudu, Veteran Perang di Pusaran Kasus Proyek Satelit Kemenhan". Kompas (in Indonesian).
^ "Profil Ryamizard Ryacudu". merdeka.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2024-10-29.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Kini Dukung Anies, Begini Jejak Karier Jenderal Ryamizard Ryacudu Keturunan Penyebar Agama Islam di Lampung". merdeka.com. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
^ Liputan6.com (2001-07-23). "Pasukan TNI Menggelar Apel Siaga". liputan6.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2024-10-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ "Profil Ryamizard Ryacudu". tirto.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2024-10-29.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Terjadi Kontak Senjata, Jenderal Ryamizard Turun Mengejar GAM". detiknews (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2024-10-29.
^ "Kisah KSAD Ryamizard Ryacudu Dikepung Musuh, Jadi Sasaran Tembak dari Jarak 4 Meter". SINDOnews Nasional (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2024-10-29.
^ ^a ^b Pernah batal Jadi Panglima TNI, Ryamizard Kini Jabat Menteri Pertahanan. Diakses dari situs berita Detik pada 6 November 2014
^ Komisi I DPR Tetap Inginkan Ryamizard Jadi Panglima TNI. Archived 2014-11-07 at the Wayback Machine Diakses dari situs berita Indosiar pada 6 November 2014
^ FOSAD: Ada Konspirasi Jegal Ryamizard Jadi Panglima TNI. Archived 2015-07-21 at the Wayback Machine Diakses dari situs Merdeka pada 6 November 2014
^ Gus Dur: Ada Masalah Antara SBY dengan Ryamizard. Archived 2014-11-06 at the Wayback Machine Diakses dari situs resmi NU pada tanggal 6 November 2014
^ Ryamizard: Baguz Buat Saya, Tak Bagus Buat Negara. Untuk Apa?. Diakses dari situs Berita Detik pada 6 November 2014
^ Hidayat Digantikan Ryamizard di PDIP. Archived 2014-11-06 at the Wayback Machine Diakses dari situs berita inilah.com pada 6 November 2014
^ DPD Gorontalo Usung Fadel Muhammad Sebagai Cawapres Megawati. Diakses dari situs berita Detik pada 6 November 2014
^ Ryamizard Ryacudu Bersedia Dampingi Jokowi. Archived 2014-11-06 at the Wayback Machine Diakses dari situs berita Erabaru pada 6 November 2014
^ Ryamizard Ryacudu Deklarasikan Dukungan pada Jokowi JK. Diakses dari situs berita Antara pada 6 November 2014
^ Ryamizard Lingkaran Megawati di Istana. Diakses dari situs CNN Indonesia pada 6 November 2014
^ "Pernah Batal Jadi Panglima TNI, Ryamizard Kini Jabat Menteri Pertahanan". detiknews (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2024-10-29.
^ Hasugian, Maria Rita (2014-10-26). "Pengamat Sesalkan Jokowi Pilih Ryamizard". Tempo. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
^ "Jokowi "harus" jelaskan penunjukan Ryamizard Ryacudu". BBC News Indonesia (in Indonesian). 2014-10-27. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
^ ^a ^b Ananda, Putra (4 January 2024). "Potret Perbedaan Strategi Menteri Pertahanan era Ryamizard Ryacudu dan PrabowoSubianto". mediaindonesia.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2024-10-29.
^ antaranews.com (2018-02-09). "Menhan: industri pertahanan maju, Indonesia tak tergantung asing". Antara News (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2024-10-29.

Political offices
Preceded by Purnomo Yusgiantoro	Minister of Defense 2014–2019	Succeeded by Prabowo Subianto
Military offices
Preceded by Agus Wirahadikusumah	Commander of Kostrad 2000–2002	Succeeded by Endriartono Sutarto
Preceded by Agus Wirahadikusumah	Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army 2002–2005	Succeeded by Djoko Santoso