Col. Prabowo to head Kopassus special forces

Col. Prabowo to head Kopassus special forces

JAKARTA (JP): Col. Prabowo Subianto, 43, will head Indonesia's special forces (Kopassus) next month to become the country's youngest general in the last decade.

Prabowo, son-in-law of President Soeharto, will be promoted to brigadier general when he replaces Kopassus chief Brigadier General Subagyo Hadi Siswoyo on Dec. 1. Subagyo will be moved to head the Diponegoro military region in Central Java, once under Soeharto's leadership in the 1950s.

A 1974 graduate of AKABRI military academy, Prabowo married Soeharto's second daughter Siti Hediati Harijadi, 36, in 1983. His promotion also makes him the first officer from his 1974 military academy class to reach the rank of general.

Prabowo, now Subagyo's deputy, is the son of prominent economist Sumitro Djojohadikusomo and studied in the United States and England before entering the military academy.

Prabowo became a fast-rising star after he captured the leader of the Fretilin, Lobato, in 1978 when he was assigned to East Timor. He has spent most of his military career with the green berets Kostrad (Strategic Command) and the Kopassus.

Subagyo is also known as a fast-rising officer after his highly publicized role in leading the successful attack on the hijackers of an Indonesian plane in Bangkok in the early 1980s.

Diponegoro's current commander, Maj. Gen. Yusuf Kertanegara, will become the assistant to the Armed Forces general chief of staff for intelligence. (lem)