a beautiful mind

In memoriam of B.J. Habibie, one of Indonesia’s finest inventors and thinkers

Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, the third president of Indonesia who is regarded by many as the man who returned democracy to the largest archipelago in the world, passed away on September 11 at the age of 83. Fondly known as B.J. Habibie, his 517-day presidency and 71-day vice presidency are the shortest in the country’s history.

However, in this short time he managed to

liberalise Indonesia’s press and political party laws and held a democratic election three years sooner than scheduled, which resulted in the end of his presidency. He has received a number of accolades and awards for both his service and his training as an engineer, while books and movies have been made about his life that of and Ainun, his beloved wife.