Indonesia Government Profile 2009

Country name

conventional long form: Republic of Indonesia
conventional short form: Indonesia
local long form: Republik Indonesia
local short form: Indonesia
former: Netherlands East Indies, Dutch East Indies

Government type

republic

Capital

name: Jakarta
geographic coordinates: 6 10 S, 106 49 E
time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
note: Indonesia is divided into three time zones

Administrative divisions

30 provinces (provinsi-provinsi, singular - provinsi), 2 special regions* (daerah-daerah istimewa, singular - daerah istimewa), and 1 special capital city district** (daerah khusus ibukota); Aceh*, Bali, Banten, Bengkulu, Gorontalo, Jakarta Raya**, Jambi, Jawa Barat, Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, Kalimantan Barat, Kalimantan Selatan, Kalimantan Tengah, Kalimantan Timur, Kepulauan Bangka Belitung, Kepulauan Riau, Lampung, Maluku, Maluku Utara, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Papua, Papua Barat, Riau, Sulawesi Barat, Sulawesi Selatan, Sulawesi Tengah, Sulawesi Tenggara, Sulawesi Utara, Sumatera Barat, Sumatera Selatan, Sumatera Utara, Yogyakarta*
note: following the implementation of decentralization beginning on 1 January 2001, the 465 regencies and municipalities have become the key administrative units responsible for providing most government services

Independence

17 August 1945 (declared); 27 December 1949 (by the Netherlands)
note: in August 2005, the Netherlands announced it recognized de facto Indonesian independence on 17 August 1945

National holiday

Independence Day, 17 August (1945)

Constitution

August 1945; abrogated by Federal Constitution of 1949 and Provisional Constitution of 1950, restored 5 July 1959; series of amendments concluded in 2002

Legal system

based on Roman-Dutch law, substantially modified by indigenous concepts and by new criminal procedures and election codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage

17 years of age; universal and married persons regardless of age

Executive branch

chief of state: President Susilo Bambang YUDHOYONO (since 20 October 2004); Vice President Muhammad Yusuf KALLA (since 20 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Susilo Bambang YUDHOYONO (since 20 October 2004); Vice President Muhammad Yusuf KALLA (since 20 October 2004)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president and vice president are elected for five-year terms (eligible for a second term) by direct vote of the citizenry; last held on 8 July 2009 (next to be held in July 2014)
election results: Susilo Bambang YUDHOYONO elected president; percent of vote - Susilo Bambang YUDHOYONO 60.8%, MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri 26.8%, Jusuf KALLA 12.4%

Legislative branch

People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat or MPR) is the upper house, consists of members of DPR and DPD, has role in inaugurating and impeaching the president and in amending the constitution, does not formulate national policy; House of Representatives or Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) (550 seats, members elected to serve five-year terms), formulates and passes legislation at the national level; House of Regional Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Daerah or DPD), constitutionally mandated role includes providing legislative input to DPR on issues affecting regions
elections: last held 9 April 2009 (next to be held in 2014)
election results: percent of vote by party - PD 20.9%, GOLKAR 14.5%, PDI-P 14.0%, PKS 7.9%, PAN 6.0%, PPP 5.3%, PKB 4.9%, GERINDRA 4.5%, HANURA 3.8%, others 18.2%; seats by party - PD 148, GOLKAR 108, PDI-P 93, PKS 59, PAN 42, PPP 39, PKB 26, GERINDRA 30, HANURA 15
note: 29 other parties received less than 2.5% of the vote so did not obtain any seats; because of election rules, the number of seats won does not always follow the percentage of votes received by parties

Judicial branch

Supreme Court or Mahkamah Agung is the final court of appeal but does not have the power of judicial review (justices are appointed by the president from a list of candidates selected by the legislature); in March 2004 the Supreme Court assumed administrative and financial responsibility for the lower court system from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights; Constitutional Court or Mahkamah Konstitusi (invested by the president on 16 August 2003) has the power of judicial review, jurisdiction over the results of a general election, and reviews actions to dismiss a president from office; Labor Court under supervision of Supreme Court began functioning in January 2006; the Anti-Corruption Court has jurisdiction over corruption cases brought by the independent Corruption Eradication Commission; in 2006, the Constitutional Court declared the mechanism by which the Anti-Corruption Court was established unconstitutional and gave the parliament until the end of 2009 to pass Anti-Corruption Court legislation

Political parties and leaders

Democrat Party or PD [Hadi UTOMO]; Functional Groups Party or GOLKAR [Yusuf KALLA]; Great Indonesia Movement Party or GERINDRA [WIRANTO]; Indonesia Democratic Party-Struggle or PDI-P [MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri]; National Awakening Party or PKB [Muhaiman ISKANDAR]; National Mandate Party or PAN [Sutrisno BACHIR]; People's Conscience Party or HANURA [SUHARDI]; Prosperous Justice Party or PKS [Tifatul SEMBIRING]; United Development Party or PPP [Suryadharma ALI]

Political pressure groups and leaders

Indonesian Women's Coalition (Koalisi Perempuan - human rights group); Islamic Defenders Front or FPI; National Alliance for Freedom of Religion and Faith; Oil Palm Watch (environmental)

International organization participation

ADB, APEC, APT, ARF, ASEAN, BIS, CP, EAS, FAO, G-15, G-20, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PIF (partner), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador SUDJADNAN Parnohadiningrat
chancery: 2020 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 775-5200
FAX: [1] (202) 775-5365
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Cameron R. HUME
embassy: Jalan 1 Medan Merdeka Selatan 4-5, Jakarta 10110
mailing address: Unit 8129, Box 1, FPO AP 96520
telephone: [62] (21) 3435-9000
FAX: [62] (21) 3435-9922
consulate(s) general: Surabaya

Flag description

two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; similar to the flag of Monaco, which is shorter; also similar to the flag of Poland, which is white (top) and red

Group

All, APLAA, East Asia/Southeast Asia, Southeast Asia