Country Indonesia

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-daerahistimewa, singular - daerahistimewa), and 1 special capital city district** (daerahkhususibukota); Aceh*, Bali, Banten, Bengkulu, Gorontalo, Jakarta Raya**, Jambi, Jawa Barat (West Java), Jawa Tengah, JawaTimur, 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, 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 that it had 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 SusiloBambang YUDHOYONO (since 20 October 2004); Vice President BOEDIONO (since 20 October 2009); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President SusiloBambang YUDHOYONO (since 20 October 2004); Vice President BOEDIONO (since 20 October 2009) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected for five-year terms (eligible for a second term) by direct vote of the citizenry; election last held on 8 July 2009 (next to be held in 2014) election results: SusiloBambang YUDHOYONO elected president; percent of vote - SusiloBambang YUDHOYONO 60.8%, MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri 26.8%, Jusuf KALLA 12.4%

Legislative branch:

People's Consultative Assembly (MajelisPermusyawaratan Rakyat or MPR) is the upper house; it consists of members of the DPR and DPD and has role in inaugurating and impeaching the president and in amending the constitution but does not formulate national policy; House of Representatives or DewanPerwakilan Rakyat (DPR) (560 seats, members elected to serve five-year terms), formulates and passes legislation at the national level; House of Regional Representatives (DewanPerwakilan Daerah or DPD), constitutionally mandated role includes providing legislative input to DPR on issues affecting regions (132 members, four from each of Indonesia's 30 provinces, two special regions, and one special capital city district) elections: last held on 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 107, PDI-P 94, PKS 57, PAN 46, PPP 37, PKB 28, GERINDRA 26, HANURA 17 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 MahkamahAgung 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 MahkamahKonstitusi (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

Political parties and leaders:

Democrat Party or PD [Anas URANINGRUM]; Functional Groups Party or GOLKAR [Aburizal BAKRIE]; Great Indonesia Movement Party or GERINDRA [SUHARDI]; Indonesia Democratic Party-Struggle or PDI-P [MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri]; National Awakening Party or PKB [Muhaiman ISKANDAR]; National Mandate Party or PAN [Hatta RAJASA]; People's Conscience Party or HANURA [WIRANTO]; Prosperous Justice Party or PKS [LuthfiHasan ISHAQ]; United Development Party or PPP [Suryadharma ALI]

Political pressure groups and leaders:

Commission for the "Disappeared" and Victims of Violence or KontraS; Indonesia Corruption Watch or ICW; Indonesian Forum for the Environment or WALHI; Islamic Defenders Front or FPI; People's Democracy Fortress or Bendera

International organization participation:

ADB, APEC, ARF, ASEAN, BIS, CICA (observer), CP, D-8, 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, PIF (partner), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Dino Patti DJALAL 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 Scot A. MARCIEL 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; the colors derive from the banner of the Majapahit Empire of the 13th-15th centuries; red symbolizes courage, white represents purity note: similar to the flag of Monaco, which is shorter; also similar to the flag of Poland, which is white (top) and red

National anthem:

name: "Indonesia Raya" (Great Indonesia) lyrics/music: Wage Rudolf SOEPRATMAN note: adopted 1945

STATE ORGANS

According to the 1945 Constitution there are six organs of the state:

1. The People's Consultative Assembly (MajelisPermusyawaratan Rakyat).
2. The Presidency.
3. The House of Representatives (DewanPerwakilan Rakyat).
4. The Supreme Advisory Council (DewanPertimbanganAgung).
5. The State Audit Board (BadanPemeriksaKeuangan).
6. The Supreme Court (MahkamahAgung).

Back to Top

---

THE PEOPLE'S CONSULTATIVE ASSEMBLY

Article 1 of the 1945 Constitution states that Indonesia is a republic with sovereignty vested in the people to be fully exercised by an elected People's Consultative Assembly, which is the highest political institution in the state. Since the Assembly holds the supreme power in the state, the people voice their political and social aspirations through this body.

The major tasks of the Assembly are to sanction the Constitution, decide the Guidelines of State Policy, and elect the President and Vice-President for a term of office of five years.

In relation to the Assembly, the President is its Mandatary and, as such, is accountable to the Assembly for the conduct of government. In the exercise of his duties, the President is assisted by the Vice-President.

The total membership of the People's Consultative Assembly is twice the membership of the House of Representatives*). All members of the House are concurrently members of the Assembly.

The second half of the Assembly's membership consists of members from political organizations, the various factions of the Armed Forces faction, and from Golkar. It also includes regional delegates and representatives from professional groups.

When Act No. 5 of 1975 was in force (up to the general elections of 1982), the membership of the House was 460 and that of the Assembly 920. When the act was amended by Act No. 2 of 1985, the membership of the House grew to 500, and the membership of the Assembly to 1,000. 


please open here