Agum made new governor of military think tank

JAKARTA (JP): Lt. Gen. Agum Gumelar was installed yesterday as the new governor of the military's think tank, the National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas), replacing Lt. Gen. Sofian Effendi.

The ceremony, held at the institute in Kebon Sirih, Central Jakarta, was led by Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto, who was Agum's classmate at the military academy.

Sofian will soon be assigned an administrative task at the Armed Forces (ABRI) Headquarters.

Agum, a 1968 graduate of the Armed Forces Academy (Akabri), was transferred from his position of commander of the Wirabuana Regional Military Command, overseeing the four provinces of Sulawesi.

Born in Tasikmalaya, West Java, in December 1945, Agum spent most of his military career in various military operations against security disturbances and separatist movements across the country.

Military operations Agum took part in include the suppression of an attempted revolt in Paraku, West Kalimantan, and efforts against separatist activities in East Timor and Irian Jaya in the late 1970s.

Agum also has the reputation of being a capable intelligence officer. He was assistant for intelligence affairs to the Army's special force (Kopassus) commander in 1990 and assistant for intelligence affairs to the chief of staff of the Jakarta Military Command in 1992.

He was appointed director for domestic intelligence affairs at the then Armed Forces Intelligence Body (BAIS) in 1993 before he was appointed as the commander of Kopassus in 1994. In August 1996, Agum became chief of the Wirabuana Regional Military Command.

Sofian spent almost two-thirds of his military career in Kopassus, which he immediately joined after graduating from Akabri in 1965.

He ended his service in Kopassus in 1989 when he was appointed chief of the Lilawangsa Military Command, overseeing Aceh province, his hometown.

Like Agum, Sofian was also chief of the Wirabuana Regional Military Command, holding the post for five months in 1993. He was then appointed assistant for operations and subsequently became assistant for territorial affairs to the Armed Forces chief of general affairs between 1993 and 1994.

He was the assistant for general military planning to the Armed Forces chief until Sept. 1995 before being appointed Lemhannas governor a month later. (imn)