Jakarta – Former Defense and Security Minister Gen. (ret) Edi Sudradjat passed away on Friday. He died at 1 p.m. at Army Central Hospital Gatot Subroto in Jakarta. The cause of his death has not been revealed. Edi was survived by his wife Lulu Lugiyati and three children.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla came to the hospital to pay his respects along with several ministers, among them Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono, Women's Empowerment Minister Meutia Farida Hatta Swasono and Social Affairs Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah. Edi's body was returned to the funeral home on Jl. Dharmawangsa in South Jakarta after a military ceremony at the hospital.
The retired general once occupied three simultaneous posts, as Army chief, Armed Forces commander and defense minister.
His "back to basics" approach called for soldiers to focus on military professionalism, protecting citizens rather than pursuing business interests.
Edi, known as a nationalist and a man of few words, came close to becoming vice president in the Soeharto era. Try Sutrisno, his predecessor as commander of the armed forces, took the position instead.
Edi, an influential figure in the New Order era, was among the first batch of graduates of the Military Academy in 1960, the military academy set up by Indonesia after its independence.
Edi began his career in 1961 as platoon commandant of Infantry 515 Battalion in Jember, East Java, before joining the red beret corps of the Army to conduct operations against South Maluku Republican Army insurgents.
He joined operations against the Free Papua Movement (OPM) and communist activists and later became the head of the Agency for Coordination of Support for the Development of National Stability in 1988. That year, he was promoted to four-star general and named Army chief. Edi also joined Indonesia's Garuda IV Contingent of the United Nations' peacekeeping force in 1993.
He established the Justice and Unity Party (PKP) in December 1998 because he felt that his former faction, Golkar, under the leadership of Akbar Tandjung, was reluctant to reform. PKP argued that Golkar's attitude toward the national ideology of Pancasila and the 1945 constitution could threaten the unity of Indonesia.
Edi received the prestigious title "Tan Sri" from the Malaysian government in 1977 and the "Order of National Security Merit Tong II" award from South Korea in 1989.