Sukarno (6 June 1901-21 June 1970) was the first President of Indonesia. Sukarno was the leader of his country’s struggle for independence from the Netherlands and was Indonesia’s first President from 1945 to 1967. he was forced out of power and replaced by one of his generals, Suharto, and remained under house arrest until his death.
Sukarno, was born in Surabaya, Java. He formed the Indonesia National Party in 1927 and was imprisoned by the colonial Dutch government for his nationalist activities from 1929-1931. After living in exile, Sukarno returned to become the leader of Indonesia from 1942-1945 during the Japanese occupation of the nation during the Second World War. President Sukarno united people of differing ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds scattered among the Indonesian islands covering about 3200 miles of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.