Profile of Try Sutrisno: From Soekarno's Aide to Vice President

Former Vice President General TNI (retired) Try Sutrisno passed away on Monday, 2 March 2026. The late Try Sutrisno breathed his last at the Central Armed Forces Hospital (RSPAD) Gatot Soebroto in Jakarta, at approximately 06:58 WIB.

The body of Try Sutrisno was scheduled to be washed at RSPAD and then transported to the funeral home at Jalan Purwakarta Number 6, Menteng, Central Jakarta.

Try Sutrisno was Vice President who accompanied President Soekarno during the period 1993–1998. This sixth Vice President was born in Surabaya, East Java, on 15 November 1935. According to Tempo magazine’s edition of Saturday, 13 March 1993, from childhood, Try was the third of six children of Subandi and Mardliyah, living modestly.

Try began his military career when he was accepted as a cadet at the Army Technical Academy (Atekad) and graduated in 1959. He participated in operations against PRRI in 1957. He was also involved in the 17 August Operation, Trikora Operation, Indonesian–Malaysian Confrontation, Operation Seroja, and the Aceh Rebellion.

Try was involved in the Operation to Liberate West Irian in 1962, which led to his acquaintance with Soekarno. At that time, Soekarno appointed Soekarno as Commander of Mandala Command, which was stationed in Sulawesi.

The acquaintance of Try with Soekarno that launched his career was retold by Tempo magazine three decades ago. The intense acquaintance of the two occurred in 1972 or ten years later. At that time, at a seminar on “The Inheritance of ’45 Values” at Seskoad, Bandung, Major Try Sutrisno gave an impressive presentation.

Delivering a paper entitled “The Problem of Inheritance in the Army and the Integration of the Armed Forces and the People”, Try answered various responses from General Soemitro, Pangkopkamtib. This presentation also impressed both Soekarno and the former Vice President Mohammad Hatta who attended.

From then on, this Atekad 1959 graduate began to rise. From Commander of Engineer Battalion 10, Lieutenant Colonel Try was promoted to head of bureau at the Army General Staff headquarters. In 1974, Try was brought to the Palace. From then on, Try became aide-de-camp to President Soekarno.

Try served as aide-de-camp for four years until 1978. Try considered the position of presidential aide-de-camp as “a special period of learning to strengthen the process of maturation as an Armed Forces officer”. He considered the task heavy, but noble because it concerned the security and welfare of the President and his family.

From the Palace, Try was sent to Bali to become Commander of Udayana Military Region (1978). He then rose to become Commander of Sriwijaya Military Region in Palembang (1979), Commander of Jaya Military Region (1982), and was then appointed as Deputy Armed Forces Chief of Staff (1985). After serving as Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Try was appointed Armed Forces Commander, just days before the 1988 MPR General Assembly.

In February 1993, the same month when Try stepped down from his position as Armed Forces Commander and a month before the MPR was scheduled to meet to elect a new President and Vice President, MPR members from the Armed Forces faction nominated Try Sutrisno to be Vice President. Soekarno also accepted Try.

Although he accepted Try as Vice President, Soekarno was displeased with his running mate. Soekarno showed little regard and did not even consult him in the cabinet formation process. Tempo magazine’s edition of 2 January 1998 referred to Try as “Vice President Only a Spare Tyre That Was Not Used”.

When Soekarno visited Egypt in 1995, Try stated in a report in a national newspaper that if in business, the children of officials should not use their father’s name. The authorities were angered, and from then on, reporting of Try Sutrisno in any newspaper was suspended.

Another slight came in late 1997 when Soekarno had to go to Germany for health treatment. Rather than delegating Try to carry out the President’s duties, Soekarno instead appointed the State Secretary Minister, Moerdiono. An APEC summit was also attended by the Foreign Minister, Ali Alatas, rather than Try.

In 1998, at the MPR General Assembly, many desired Try Sutrisno to undertake a second term as Vice President. Despite strong support, Try Sutrisno was not ambitious. In the end, Soekarno chose B.J. Habibie as his running mate.