Siti Hartinah

Raden Ayu Siti Hartinah (23 August 1923 – 28 April 1996), also known as Siti Hartinah Soeharto or Tien Soeharto,[lower-alpha 1] was the First Lady of Indonesia from 1967 until 1996. She was the wife of second Indonesian president, Suharto.

Raden Ayu
Siti Hartinah
Official portrait, 1993
First Lady of Indonesia
In role
12 March 1967 – 28 April 1996
Preceded byFatmawati
Succeeded bySiti Hardiyanti Rukmana (acting)
Hasri Ainun Habibie
Personal details
Born(1923-08-23)23 August 1923
Surakarta, Surakarta Sunanate, Dutch East Indies
Died28 April 1996(1996-04-28) (aged 72)
Jakarta, Indonesia
Resting placeAstana Giribangun
Spouse
​
(m. 1947)​
Children
AwardsList of honours and awards
Signature

Known as Ibu Tien in Indonesia, she was widely acknowledged to have been politically powerful, and a close confidant and political advisor to Suharto.[2]

Biography
Siti Hartinah and Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld in 1971
Indonesian First Lady Siti Hartinah (right), together with Puteri Indonesia 1996 Alya Rohali (middle) and Miss Universe 1996, Alicia Machado of Venezuela (left).[3]

Siti Hartinah was distantly related to the Mangkunegaran Royal household.[4] Some commentators state that her honorific title of Raden Ayu was reserved only for faithful commoner courtiers or servants (abdi dalem) of the Mangkunegaran court.

She married Suharto on 26 December 1947 in Surakarta using a traditional Javanese ceremony. The Javanese custom was for the bride's family to pay the bulk of the wedding costs. Suharto apparently drove there in a battered De Soto sedan. Suharto stated that the marriage was initially not one of romantic love, but they did eventually grow to love each other devotedly, a type of marriage that was very common for many Javanese of that era.[4] Three days after their marriage, Siti Hartinah was taken by Suharto to live in his Yogyakarta house at Jalan Merbabu 2.[4]

Her marriage was initiated by Suharto's foster mother at the time, Ibu (Mrs) Prawirowiharjo, who sought an audience with her mother. Ibu Prawirowiharjo cultivated a close relationship with her mother, a family in Suharto's own words as "well regarded and respected in the city of Solo"[5]

Siti Hartinah became known in Indonesia as "Madame Tien". Many Javanese saw her as one of the major causes of Suharto's own power.

Siti Hartinah died of heart failure on 28 April 1996 in Jakarta, and is interred beside her husband in the Astana Giribangun mausoleum complex in Karanganyar Regency, Central Java.[2]

Family

Suharto and Siti Hartinah had six children, Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana (Tutut), Sigit Harjojudanto (Sigit), Bambang Trihatmodjo (Bambang), Siti Hediati (Titiek), Hutomo Mandala Putra (Tommy) and Siti Hutami Endang Adiningsih (Mamiek), and 11 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.

See also

Notes
  1. The alternative spelling of Suharto is from the Dutch Colonial era spelling.

References

Citations
  1. Berger, Marilyn (January 28, 2008). "Suharto Dies at 86; Indonesian Dictator Brought Order and Bloodshed". New York Times. Retrieved January 30, 2008.
  2. Budiardjo, Carmel (April 29, 1996)"Ibu Tien Buried Today". Archived from the original on March 2, 2008. Retrieved January 30, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) . hamline.edu
  3. "Notable People of Jakarta - ALYA ROHALI". Ministry of Communication and Information Technology of The Republic of Indonesia and Government of Jakarta Special Capital Region. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  4. Elson, 23
  5. Elson, 22

General
  • Suharto: A Political Biography. Robert Edward Elson. Cambridge University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-521-77326-1
  • Siti Hartinah Soeharto : First Lady of Indonesia. Abdul Gafur. PT. Citra Lamtoro Gung Persada, 1992. ISBN unknown
  • Who's Who in Indonesia. Mahiddin Mahmud. Gunung Agung, 1990. ISBN unknown
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