President of Indonesia
On 20 October 2014, Joko Widodo became the seventh and current president of Indonesia.
Joko Widodo
He achieved national prominence in 2009 for his work as the Mayor of Surakarta. A member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), he was its candidate for the 2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election, alongside Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (often known as "Ahok") as his running mate. Defeating incumbent Fauzi Bowo, he took office in October 2012 and reinvigorated Jakarta politics, with publicized "blusukan" visits (unannounced spot checks) and improving the city's bureaucracy, reducing corruption in the process. He also introduced years-late programs to improve quality of life in the city, including universal health-care, dredging the city's main river to reduce flooding, and inaugurating construction of the city's subway system.