Gen. Hartono gets cabinet post

JAKARTA (JP): In a surprising cabinet reshuffle, President Soeharto appointed retiring Army Chief Gen. R. Hartono minister of information yesterday, replacing Harmoko, who led Golkar to a landslide victory in last month's general election.

The President, who is widely tipped to retain his post in next year's election, also reshuffled senior generals in the Armed Forces (ABRI).

Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono said yesterday Harmoko would stay in the cabinet as a state minister of special assignments, a newly created post.

"Harmoko is honorably discharged as minister of information. The president will give him special assignments to facilitate the cabinet's job," Moerdiono said after accompanying ABRI Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung to a meeting with Soeharto at Merdeka Palace.

"General Hartono will be retiring and honorably discharged from his position as Army chief," he said.

Hartono will be replaced by Lt. Gen. Wiranto, chief of the army's strategic reserve command. He will be promoted to four- star general.

Moerdiono said Soeharto would swear in Hartono and Wiranto next Wednesday in a ceremony at the State Palace. Harmoko would not be sworn in because he is already a cabinet member.

Born on June 10, 1941, in Pamekasan, East Java, and graduating from the National Military Academy in 1962, Hartono reached his mandatory retirement age last year, but the President kept him on for another year.

When he completed his three-year assignment in 1993 as Brawijaya's military commander he won strong support to run for East Java governor.

However the President appointed him head of the Armed Forces Staff and Command School in Bandung. From 1993 to 1994 he was the governor of the National Resilience Institute.

For the next few months he was the Armed Forces' sociopolitical affairs chief, before assuming his post as Army chief of staff in February 1995.

He is among those tipped to become the next vice president.

Harmoko has served as information minister in Soeharto's last three cabinets, since 1983.

Soeharto also decided to promote Wiranto, together with the Navy Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Arief Kushariadi, Air Force Chief of Staff Vice Marshal Sutria Tubagus, and National Police Chief Lt. Gen. Dibyo Widodo.

As chairman of Golkar, which captured more than 74 percent of the vote in last month's general election, Harmoko has a strong chance of being elected the next speaker of the House of Representatives/People's Consultative Assembly later this year.

"It is common that the winner of the general election nominates its chairman as the DPR/MPR speaker," said Moerdiono.

It means that Harmoko will leave the cabinet in October when the new legislators take their seats.

Under Indonesian state protocol, the House speaker is the third most senior position after the president and vice president.

If he is elected House speaker, Harmoko will chair the People's Consultative Assembly next March which will meet to elect the new president and vice president and adopt the State Broad Guidelines for the next five year's cabinet program.

Wiranto's career has skyrocketed after serving as Soeharto's adjutant from 1989 through 1993. He was the Jakarta military commander from 1993 to 1996 before being promoted commander of the Army's strategic reserve command.

Wiranto was born on July 7, 1947, in Yogyakarta, and graduated from the National Military Academy in Magelang in 1968.

Wiranto will be replaced by Maj. Gen. Sugiono, currently commander of the Presidential Security Guards.

Sugiono's position will be filled by Maj. Gen. Sutarto, one of Hartono's assistants.

President Soeharto also appointed the incumbent Diponegoro Military Commander Maj. Gen. Subagyo Hari Siswoyo as the Army's deputy chief of staff.

The officers' ranks will be promoted before they assume their new positions.

The deputy Army chief position became vacant when Lt. Gen. F.X. Sudjasmin retired Wednesday.

Born on June 12, 1946, in Yogyakarta, Subagyo graduated from the military academy in 1970.

He spent 13 years of his career in Presidential Security Guards, from 1986 to 1993. He briefly headed the Army's special forces in 1994 before taking up his current post in Semarang.

Subagyo will be replaced by Brig. Gen. Mardjianto, currently the deputy governor of Armed Forces Academy in Magelang. (06)