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View all search resultsFormer Lemhannas governor Agus Widjojo, champion of military reform, dies at 78
Indonesians on Monday bid farewell to former National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas) governor Agus Widjojo, who died on Sunday night at the age of 78. The retired army general, later a diplomat, was widely influential in redefining civil-military relations as Indonesia transitioned to democracy in the late 90s.
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The late Indonesian Ambassador to the Philippines, retired Lt. Gen. Agus Widjojo, in a photograph released on Feb. 9 by the Indonesian Embassy in Manila. (Antara/Handout-Indonesian Foreign Ministry)
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ndonesians on Monday bid a final farewell to former National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas) governor Agus Widjojo, who died on Sunday night at the age of 78. The retired army general, later a diplomat, was widely influential in redefining civil-military relations as Indonesia transitioned to democracy in the late 90s.
Agus, who was serving as Indonesian ambassador to the Philippines, the Marshall Islands and Palau, died at the Gatot Subroto Army Hospital in Central Jakarta, according to the Foreign Ministry. He had been appointed envoy by former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in early 2022.
A final farewell ceremony was held at the Foreign Ministry on Monday morning, ahead of his burial at the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery in South Jakarta. Ministry spokesperson Yvonne Mewengkang said: “Our deepest condolences from everyone at the ministry on the passing of the ambassador”.
Among civil society groups and reform advocates, Agus was remembered as a reformist officer who helped guide the restructuring of the military after the fall of Soeharto’s authoritarian New Order regime.
As the armed forces grappled with an identity crisis amid mounting public pressure to end its political role, Agus emerged as one of figures behind an internal doctrinal shift that persuaded the military to voluntarily withdraw from non-defense affairs, championing for a professional military and the end of dwifungsi (dual function) system.
“He was one of the architects that made the end of dwifungsi possible, and was a bridge between civil societies and the military at the time. He is remembered for his reformist thinking, understanding of democracy and respect for human rights,” Ardi Manto Adiputra, director of rights group Imparsial, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
“We have lost a friend and a senior figure who understood, and accommodated the ideas of civil societies in safeguarding defense sector reform,” Ardi added.
