Subagyo Hadi Siswoyo

Subagyo Hadi Siswoyo was born on 12 June 1946 in Piyungan, in the Bantul area of the Special Region of Yogyakarta, and spent his childhood there. After finishing secondary school he chose a military career and entered the Indonesian armed forces academy, AKABRI, in Magelang, Central Java. He graduated in 1970 and was commissioned into the infantry of the Indonesian Army at the age of 24.

Subagyo spent much of his career in the army's special forces, then known as Kopassandha and later Kopassus. He served in the East Timor campaign, Operation Seroja, and received the Seroja service medal twice. In March 1981 he took part in Operation Woyla, the storming of the hijacked Garuda Indonesia Flight 206 at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok, and for that operation he was given a special one rank promotion and the Bintang Sakti, Indonesia's highest military decoration for bravery.

During the Suharto era he commanded the presidential security force, Paspampres. He was promoted to general officer rank as commander general of Kopassus, a post he held from September 1994 to December 1995. In that period Brigadier General Prabowo Subianto served as his deputy, and Prabowo succeeded him at the head of Kopassus. Subagyo then commanded the IV/Diponegoro military region in Central Java from 1995 to 1997 and became deputy chief of staff of the army.

On 16 February 1998 he succeeded Wiranto as Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army, the twentieth holder of the office. He served until 20 November 1999, when he was succeeded by Tyasno Sudarto, and he remains the only army chief to have served under three presidents: Suharto, B. J. Habibie and Abdurrahman Wahid. His time in office covered the May 1998 riots, the Trisakti University shootings, the resignation of Suharto and growing rivalries inside the armed forces. In 1998 he chaired the Officers' Honour Council (Dewan Kehormatan Perwira) that examined Lieutenant General Prabowo, the former commander of the army's strategic reserve, and the council's decision brought Prabowo's military career to an end. Subagyo retired from the army in 1999 with the rank of four star general.

In retirement he became a member of the Hanura party, and on 19 January 2015 President Joko Widodo appointed him to the Presidential Advisory Council (Wantimpres), on which he served until 20 October 2019.

On 12 June 1986, while still a serving officer, Subagyo co-founded the bus company Bimo Transport with Marsudiono. It began as a local intercity service between Yogyakarta and Wonosari, added tour coach services in 1993 and in 2000 dropped its scheduled routes to become a full tour coach operator.

He made his home in Yogyakarta, at a family house in the Kotabaru area of the city. He had two children, including Agus Isrok Mikroj, who followed him into the army and Kopassus and rose to general officer rank. Despite the 1998 honour council, Subagyo and Prabowo Subianto remained on close terms, and Prabowo visited his former commander in 2022 and again at his Yogyakarta home in 2024.

Subagyo Hadi Siswoyo died at Panti Rapih Hospital in Yogyakarta at 4.20 pm Western Indonesia Time on Monday 19 October 2026, aged 80. The head of the armed forces information centre, Major General Muhammad Nas, confirmed the death to the Antara news agency. The commander of the XXVI/Mataram military region, Major General Drajad Brima Yoga, said that he had been unwell in old age and had been undergoing dialysis before he died. No specific cause of death was made public.

Drajad said that President Prabowo Subianto had personally instructed that the funeral arrangements be taken care of. The plan announced on 19 October was for a military farewell ceremony at the family home in Kotabaru, Yogyakarta, on the morning of Tuesday 20 October, a flight to Jakarta, a lying in state at army headquarters and burial at the Kalibata Heroes' Cemetery in South Jakarta that afternoon.

Subagyo is remembered as one of the generals who led the Indonesian Army through the transition from the New Order to the Reform era, and as the officer who chaired the honour council that ended the military career of the man who later became president. Drajad Brima Yoga recalled him as an army chief who always fostered unity and leadership within the ranks.

His decorations included the Bintang Sakti (1981), the Bintang Mahaputera Adipradana (1999), the Bintang Kartika Eka Paksi Utama (1998), the Bintang Bhayangkara Utama (1999), Singapore's Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera) (1999) and, in August 2025, the Bintang Republik Indonesia Utama awarded by President Prabowo. The coach company he founded, Bimo Transport, continues to operate from Yogyakarta.