Jokowi, who is set to leave office in October, bestowed Prabowo with the rank in front of high-ranking military and police officials in a ceremony at the TNI headquarters in Jakarta.

“This honor is a form of appreciation and reaffirmation [for Prabowo] to fully devote himself to the people, the nation and the country,” Jokowi said in his speech to mark the occasion.

The President then pinned the four-star insignia on Prabowo’s shoulders. The defense minister attended the event in full Army uniform.

The honorary rank is the culmination of a decades-long rebranding for Prabowo, a once-rising military star who was dismissed from the armed forces in 1998 over accusations of involvement in human rights abuses in East Timor, now Timor-Leste, and the disappearance of pro-democracy activists.

Prabowo, a former son-in-law of late dictator Soeharto, has repeatedly denied the allegations, insisting he was only following orders from his superiors. He has never been prosecuted.

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Following his dismissal from the military, Prabowo went into self-exile in Jordan but returned to Indonesia in 2001 to carve out a career as businessman and politician. He cofounded the Gerindra Party in the late 2000s, which has become the vehicle for his political ambitions.

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