Noted for its banyan tree symbol and association with the color yellow, chairman Airlangga Hartato describes Golkar as a “center” party that carries out “governing duties, religious roles and civic activities in equal parts.”

In practice, Golkar tends to favor policies that are oriented toward economic development, and the party has been noted for counting various businesspeople in its membership. 

As Indonesia’s Grand Old Party, Golkar’s history stretches back to the last years of the Old Order era when the Indonesian Military formed the Golongan Karya (Functional Groups) Joint Secretariat to combat the rising influence of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) in 1964.

With the fall of the Old Order, president Soeharto, who was from a military background, turned Golkar into his very own electoral machine with the purpose of winning the 1971 and subsequent elections. 

In every election held from 1971 to 1997, Golkar won more than 60 percent of the vote, assuming control of the House of Representatives and effectively rendering Indonesia a one-party state.

Despite challenges during the Reform movement that led to Soeharto’s downfall in 1998, Golkar survived due to its political experience. While it has not secured the presidency since 1999, it remains a significant political player. 

Throughout its history, Golkar has always been part of the ruling coalition, except for a brief period between 2014 and 2016.

Internal divisions

In 2004, internal divisions surfaced when former general Wiranto won Golkar’s presidential nomination during the party’s national convention and yet, at the same time, chairman Jusuf Kalla decided to run as a vice-presidential candidate alongside Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. 

Yudhoyono and Kalla won the election, and Golkar aligned itself with Yudhoyono's Democratic Party.

Wiranto then left Golkar and formed the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) in 2006, while Soeharto’s former son-in-law, Prabowo Subianto, followed suit and established the Gerindra Party in 2008. 

In the 2009 election, Kalla formed a coalition with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), but Yudhoyono won decisively, eliminating the need for a runoff. In the legislative election, Golkar came second to the Democratic Party.

Internal divisions re-emerged before Golkar's 2009 national congress, leading to Aburizal Bakrie's election as chairman and a return to Yudhoyono's coalition. Media mogul Surya Paloh left Golkar and founded the National Democratic Party (NasDem) in 2011.

Golkar faced more internal conflicts before the 2014 general election, with Kalla joining Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's team and Bakrie supporting Prabowo. Golkar's performance was disappointing, winning only 91 out of 560 seats.

Leadership crisis

Internal tensions escalated, leading to a leadership crisis in 2014, with Bakrie and fellow Golkar Party senior politician Agung Laksono leading opposing factions. Court rulings left the crisis unresolved until October, when the Supreme Court ruled in Bakrie's favor. 

Setya Novanto took over as chairman in 2016. But the following year, he was implicated in the e-ID card graft case and stepped down as House speaker and Golkar chairman. Airlangga Hartarto became Golkar chairman and supported President Jokowi.

In the 2019 presidential election, Golkar supported Jokowi without fielding its own candidate. Golkar remained the second-largest party in the House in the legislative election, winning 85 out of 575 seats.

Internal conflicts resurfaced in 2019, with demands for the election of a new chairman. Airlangga was reelected as Golkar's chairman for five more years.

Voted in favor of the following policies:

• Omnibus Job Creation Law

• Capital City Nusantara (IKN) Law

• New and Renewable Energy Law

• Revision of the Criminal Code

• Revision of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Law

• Revision of the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law

• Sexual Violence Eradication Law

Voted against the following policies:

• Indigenous Community Law

Convicted high-profile members:

1. Setya Novanto

Setya is a former Golkar chairman. In 2013, he faced allegations of demanding a 10 percent fee from a company awarded an e-ID card contract. Two years later, he was accused of trying to extort 20 percent of Freeport Indonesia's shares (worth US$4 billion) in exchange for contract extensions, involving high-ranking officials. Setya was arrested and convicted of corruption in 2018, receiving a 15-year prison sentence and a five-year ban from public office.

2. Idrus Marham

Idrus was the Golkar secretary-general when Bakrie and Setya were chairmen within their respective terms. Idrus is also a former social affairs minister and was sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty of accepting gifts worth Rp 2.25 billion from businessman Johanes Budisutrisno Kotjo. He was also found guilty of committing corruption in the case of bribery relating to the Riau 1 Power Plant project.

Golkar Party members’ corruption tally: ^*

Rp 280 billion ($18.2 million)

Total amount of bribes received or taken

Rp 3.27 trillion

Total state losses

^* Information courtesy of BijakMemilih.id