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resident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will be the first president barred by the Constitution from seeking reelection when his term ends next year. The President has said he has not decided what to do after leaving office.

During a press conference in Budapest, Hungary, the President said that he had a lot of plans for what he would like to do after 2014, and often talked them over with the First Lady, Ani Yudhoyono. “Ani, my lovely wife, and I often discuss our future plans,” Yudhoyono said on Thursday.

“I once had the idea of opening a fried rice restaurant, but then a few weeks later, an idea to grow chili peppers emerged,” Yudhoyono said as quoted by antaranews.com.

Yudhoyono said that some people have suggested he become a campaigner, given his experience as president and his international clout.

“I haven’t decided yet. One thing is certain, with God’s will, whatever I do in the future, it will be halal,” he said.

While Yudhoyono seems superficially complacent and unambitious, some observers believe he aspires to global power, eyeing a position at the United Nations after his presidential term expires.

When he won his second term, Yudhoyono surprised the world with his pledge to cut Indonesia’s emissions by 26 percent by 2020 using the state budget alone, or by 41 percent with international aid.

Members of the Indonesia Environment Forum (Walhi) and officials from the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) say he will run for UN secretary-general.

Others suggest the President is more suitable for other UN bodies, such as the United Nations Development Programme, given that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is Asian and that the position rotates between continents.

The President looks sure to retain a role on the national political stage.

Yudhoyono is struggling with the crisis gripping his Democratic Party. The party is fragmented and Yudhoyono, as supreme assembly chief, has reportedly made attempts to keep the party under his control.

Edhie “Ibas” Baskoro Yudhoyono, his second son, is now the party’s secretary-general.

Born on Sept. 9, 1949, in the underdeveloped regency of Pacitan, East Java, to father Raden Soekotjo and mother Siti Habibah, Yudhoyono, was raised as an only child.

Serving in the Indonesian Military for 27 years, Yudhoyono had his retirement period accelerated by five years and received numerous decorations, including the Satya Lencana by the UN Peacekeeping Force, the Bintang Dharma and Bintang Maha Putra Adipurna.

On Oct. 20, 2009, Yudhoyono was inaugurated for the second time as President, along with Vice President Boediono, after the pair won the election by a landslide, defeating Megawati Soekarnoputri and Prabowo Subianto; and Jusuf Kalla and Wiranto. (nad)