Moeldoko (pronounced [muldoko]; born 8 July 1957) is an Indonesian government official, businessman, and retired general serving as the current Chief of Staff of Presidency for President Joko Widodo, previously serving as Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces.^{[1][2][3][7][8]} He graduated from the Indonesian Military Academy (AKABRI) in 1981 and received the Adhi Makayasa medal as valedictorian of his class.^[9][10][11] On 27 August 2013, he was appointed Commander of the National Armed Forces by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and approved by the People's Representative Council (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat, DPR) ^[12][13] after serving as the Chief of Staff of the Army for only three months.^[1][14] He succeeded Admiral (Ret.) Agus Suhartono who retired in May 2013.^[15]

Quick Facts General (Ret.), 3rd Presidential Chief of Staff ...

General (Ret.) Moeldoko
Moeldoko in 2014
3rd Presidential Chief of Staff
Incumbent
Assumed office 17 January 2018
President	Joko Widodo
Preceded by	Teten Masduki
Commander of the National Armed Forces
In office 30 August 2013[1][2][3] – 8 July 2015
President	Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Joko Widodo
Preceded by	Admiral Agus Suhartono
Succeeded by	General Gatot Nurmantyo
Chief of Staff of the Army
In office 20 May 2013 – 30 August 2013
President	Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Preceded by	General Pramono Edhie Wibowo
Succeeded by	General Budiman[4][5]
Commander of Military District III/Siliwangi
In office October 2010 – August 2011
Preceded by	Major General Pramono Edhie Wibowo
Succeeded by	Major General Muhammad Munir
Commander of Military District XII/Tanjungpura
In office June 2010 – October 2010
Preceded by	New office
Succeeded by	Major General Geerhan Lantara
Commander of 1st Kostrad Infantry Division
In office January 2010 – June 2010
Preceded by	Major General Hatta Syafrudin
Succeeded by	Brigadier General Adi Mulyono
Personal details
Born	(1957-07-08) 8 July 1957 (age 66) Purwoasri, Kediri, Indonesia
Political party	Independent
Other political affiliations	Hanura (2016–2018)[6]
Spouse	Koesni Harningsih
Children	2
Alma mater	Indonesian Military Academy (AKABRI) - 1981
Military service
Allegiance	Indonesia
Branch/service	Indonesian Army
Years of service	1981–2015
Rank	General
Unit	Infantry

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Moeldoko has been assigned to several military operations during his career.^[16] The most notable of these operations are: Operation Seroja in East Timor (1984) and Garuda Contingent XI/A for The Congo (1995). In addition, his overseas assignments and operations include stints in New Zealand (1983 and 1987), Singapore and Japan (1991), Iraq-Kuwait (1992), USA, and Canada.^[11]

Within seven months of 2013, General Moeldoko was granted three promotions: first as Deputy Army Chief of Staff in February, then as Army Chief of Staff in May,^[1] and as Commander of Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) on August 30.^[2][7] In the same year, he also received a Doctorate degree in public administration science from the Faculty of Social and Political Science of the Universitas Indonesia (UI).^[17][18]

In February 2014, he met with the Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission, General Fan Changlong in Beijing, China, to discuss bilateral ties.^[19][20] These discussions were related to maritime and anti-terrorism cooperation as well as the Komodo multilateral joint exercise that involves all 10 ASEAN member states together with Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and USA.^[21][22][23] To promote friendship and cooperation, General Moeldoko met with Vietnamese General Phùng Quang Thanh, Minister of National Defence of Vietnam in February, 2014^[24] and with Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Armed Forces of the Philippines General Emmanuel Bautista at Camp Aguinaldo.^[25][26]

Although he has never served outside the military, General Moeldoko has been active at home and abroad.^[27][28][29] He has been mentioned as potential VP and running mate^[30] of Joko Widodo, the governor of Jakarta and candidate in the 2014 Indonesian presidential elections, though he ultimately is not selected as a candidate.^[30][31]

After retiring from the military, Moeldoko joined Hanura Party in 2016.^[32] On 17 January 2018, Indonesian president Joko Widodo chose him to be the Presidential Chief of Staff.^[33]

In 2021, he was elected as a Democratic Party General Chairman in a heavily disputed extraordinary congress.^[34][35]

General Moeldoko has been involved in handling the incident of the turning-back asylum boats in Australia.^[36][37] He is also involved in the decision to name an Indonesian navy ship after marines associated with MacDonald House Bombing in Singapore in 1965.^[38][39][40] He had also been criticized for allegedly wearing a $100,000 Richard Mille Felipe Massa collection watch while millions of Indonesians are living in poverty. Moeldoko stated that the watch is a Chinese-made fake replica and not a real one.^[41][42][43]

Moeldoko was born in Kediri, East Java as the youngest son in a family of twelve children. He attended an agricultural vocational school in the town of Jombang in East Java and the joined the military academy in Magelang, Central Java. Moeldoko was married to Koesni Harningsih (d. 2023)^[44] and has two children, Randy Bimantoro and Joanina Rachma.^[45]

During his military career, General Moeldoko has received many awards and distinctions. The Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera) was conferred to him by the President of Singapore Tony Tan Keng Yam in recognition of his contributions in strengthening ties between the Indonesian and Singaporean armies.

• Indonesian National Armed Forces
• List of Indonesian Army Chief of Staffs
• Orders, decorations, and medals of Indonesia
• United Indonesia Cabinet
• List of Indonesians