Jusuf Habibie

Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie (born June 25, 1936), more commonly known simply as Rudy Habibie or B J Habibie, was the third President of Indonesia, holding office from 1998 to 1999.

He was born in Pare-Pare (Sulawesi), and studied at the University of Bandung. 1955-1965 he studied aircraft engineering at the RWTH Aachen, Germany, receiving diploma in 1960 and doctorate in 1965. He then worked for Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm in Hamburg.

1978-1998 he was minister of technology and research in the Suharto government of Indonesia, and also became vice president in March 1998. When Suharto was forced to retire by protests two months later Habibie became president. He declined to stand again after the national assembly voted not to accept his accountability speech in October 1999.