Joko Widodo (born 21 June 1961) is an Indonesian politician who is currently the President-elect of Indonesia. He is universally known in Indonesia as Jokowi (an abbreviation of his full name). He was previously Governor of Jakarta and Mayor of Surakarta.
He was nominated by his party, the Indonesian Democratic Party – Struggle (PDI-P), to run in the 2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election with Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (often known as Ahok) as his running mate. Jokowi was elected governor of Jakarta on 20 September 2012 after a second round runoff election in which he defeated the incumbent governor Fauzi Bowo. Jokowi's win was widely seen as reflecting popular voter support for "new" or "clean" leaders rather than the "old" style of politics in Indonesia.
Jokowi's popularity rose sharply following his election to the high-profile position of governor of Jakarta in 2012. During 2013 and early 2014, he was increasingly seen as a potential PDI-P candidate for the Indonesian presidential election in 2014. His nomination was announced on 14 March 2014.
Jokowi was named as the President-elect of Indonesia on 22 July 2014 after being declared the winner of the presidential election winning more than 53% of the vote over his opponent Prabowo Subianto, who withdrew from the race before the count was completed disputing the outcome. Jokowi will be sworn in as President of Indonesia in Jakarta on 20 October 2014.
Joko Widodo is of Javanese descent. He is the eldest son of Noto Mihardjo and Sudjiatmi Notomihardjo. He has three younger sisters, named Iit Sriyantini, Ida Yati and Titik Relawati. Before changing his name (changes of name are not unusual in Java), Joko Widodo was called Mulyono. His father came from Karanganyar, his grandparents came from a village in Boyolali. His education started in State Primary School 111, Tirtoyoso, known for being a school for less wealthy citizens.
Due to financial difficulties in his childhood, he had to work his way through primary school to earn enough money for school materials and pocket money. At twelve, he started working in his father's furniture workshop. The evictions he experienced three times in his childhood affected his way of thinking and his leadership later on as the mayor of Surakarta (Solo) as he organised housing in the city.
After primary school, he continued his studies in SMP Negeri 1 Surakarta (middle school).[13] He had wanted to continue his education in SMA Negeri 1 Surakarta (high school), but he failed the entrance exam and went to SMA Negeri 6 Surakarta instead.
He continued his education in the Forestry Faculty of Gadjah Mada University. He made use of this chance to study the structure of wood, its utilisation, and its technology. He completed his degree with the thesis called: "Study on Plywood Consumption in Final Consumption in Surakarta municipality".
After his graduation in 1985, he worked for BUMN PT Kertas Kraft Aceh and was placed in the area Hutan Pinus Merkusii di Dataran Tinggi Gayo, Middle Aceh. Nevertheless, he didn't feel at home and went home to his wife, who was seven months pregnant. He was determined to work with wood in his uncle Miyono's business named CV Roda Jati. In 1988, he started his own business under the name of CV Rakabu, referring to his first child (Rakabuming). The business was quite successful; however due to fraud, it had problems and was closed. In 1990, he tried again with money (Rp 30,000,000, around $16,000) borrowed from his mother. - Wikipedia
