Agum made new governor of military think tank

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)