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Leadership Style of Prabowo Subianto

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ABSTRACT

Every organization needs the highest leadership to manage sustainability and build
programs in achieving organizational goals. Every action of the leader will be a role
model for individuals who are members of an organization to achieve stated goals. It
will be realized if a leader has a leadership style that will motivate its members to
provide the best performance. This paper aims to analyze Prabowo’s leadership in
leading the Ministry of Defense, the Gerindra Party, and the several Indonesian
national organizations. This paper includes not just the analysis, but also a brief
biography of his life as a public figure, politician, businessman, and former lieutenant
general in the Indonesian military. This paper employs a qualitative methodology, and
data sources include books, journals, and online news articles. The discussion and
analysis of this paper show that Prabowo Subianto tends to firm, principle-centered,
charismatic, and task-oriented leadership style. The discussion also will include some of
the real work that has been made during his leadership.
Keywords:
Leadership Style; Prabowo Subianto; Firm and Charismatic Leadership Style;
Principle-Centered Leadership Style; Task-Oriented Leadership Style

1
1. Introduction

The term "state" is used to refer to an organization that has a large and complex

scope. As an organization, the state has goals that must be achieved jointly by its

citizens. The state’s purpose is a guideline for the direction of all activities carried out

by the state.1

State and organization are on distinct levels in a complex context. The state is the

most important subject and has privileges over other subjects (par excellence) of

international law. This is not only because the state is able to meet the criteria elements

as “international legal personalities”, but also because the rights and obligations that the

state receives are far greater than the subjects of international law after the state. 2

The Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, 1933 are as

follows: 1) Permanent Resident 2) Definitive Territory 3) Sovereign Government; and

4) Capacity to have relations with other countries. The criteria contained in the 1933

Montevideo Convention are generally accepted as requirements that generally reflect

the state requirements of customary international law. 3

When exercising its power, the state requires a system as a form of work and a

coordination mechanism to realize the welfare of its people. The system is an

arrangement or of interrelated parts that are arranged according to a plan or pattern to

achieve the overall goal. Law is a system. In other words, law is the rule of social life

which is an order composed of interrelated parts. As a system, the interrelated

1
Indonesia adalah Negara dan Negara adalah Organisasi. (2015, June 26). Kompasiana.
https://www.kompasiana.com/ryzafardiansyah/55019794a3331118705136b8/indonesia-adalah-negara-
dan-negara-adalah-organisasi?page=all#section1
2
Yordan Gunawan, 2021, Hukum Internasional: Sebuah Pendekatan Modern, LP3M UMY, p. 58
3
Yordan Gunawan, 2014, Transboundary Haze Pollution in the Perspective of International Law of State
Responsibility, Jurnal Media Hukum, Vol 21, No 2, Yogyakarta.

2
components, parts, interdependent throughout the organization are organized and

integrated.4

As part of the process of its activities, an organization requires a large number of

resources, such as humans, machines, and materials. The most important resources are

human beings because they have talent, energy, and creativity. The role of human

beings is necessary to manage sustainability and build programs in achieving

organizational goals. In this context, the human being is the leader of an organization. A

leader has important role to direct other human resources.5 The role can be carried out if

a leader has leadership style. The leadership style influence job satisfaction and

motivation of members.6 In the presence of motivation, its members will provide the

best performance so that the goals of an organization are achieved. The task of a leader

is not easy, whatever is done will be a role model for its members. 7

One of Indonesian national leaders is Prabowo Subianto. He portrayed himself as a

nationalist figure. 8 Seeing his track record, he is a great leader. All of leaders have

certain traits and styles in his leadership. The cultural background, education, and

insights of a leader will influence the character and style of leadership, and will also

contribute to the fact that the character and style of leadership will be unique to each

4
Yordan Gunawan, 2021, Introduction to Indonesian Legal System, Yogyakarta: UMY Press, p. 10
5
Langgeng Gilang Pangestu & Hikmat Zakky Almubaroq. (2022). Leadership Style of the Minister of
Defense of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto. International Journal of Research and
Innovation in Social Science, 6(3), p. 617.
6
Sharon Johnson. (2013). Leadership Skills, Job Satisfaction, and Motivation in the Workplace: A
Phenomenological Research Study. Dissertation, p. 31.
7
Op.Cit, p. 617.
8
Gentry F.P. Amalo. (2015). Prabowo Subianto dan Soekarnoisme. Jurnal Interaksi, 4(2), p. 167.

3
individual leader.9 Prabowo is known as a leader who has firm and charismatic

leadership style, principle-centered leadership style, and task-oriented leadership style.

Based on the description, this paper aims to analyze more deeply about the figure of

Prabowo Subianto, both in terms of his life journey and in terms of his leadership, as

well as showing the real work that has been made during his leadership.

2. Method

This research employs a qualitative methodology to examine community life,

history, behaviour, functionalization of organization, activist groups, or familial

relationship. 10 Secondary data is used as a source of information in this paper. The

secondary data is collected by reviewing, analyzing, and comprehending the available

of sources that have been explored before through other media sourced from books,

journals, and online news articles.11

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Prabowo’s Biography

Jendral Purnawirawan Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo is a figure who appears

with a military background and a businessman heading to the national political stage. 12

He was born in Jakarta on 17 October 1951 and raised in intellectual circles. His family

was prominent politicians, grandfather and father of Prabowo, Margono

9
Zainal Abidin Rengifurwarin. (2014). Analisis Gaya Kepemimpinan: Prabowo Subianto dan Joko
Widodo. Populis, 8(2), p. 10.
10
Farida Nugrahani. (2014). Metode Penelitian Kualitatif dalam Penelitian Pendidikan Bahasa. Konsep
Dasar Penelitian Kuantitatif (p. 4). Cakra Books.
11
Angky Febriansyah & Herviani. (2016). Jurnal Riset Akutansi. Jurnal Riset Akutansi, 8(2), p. 24.
12
Lina Rukmana, Aman, & Nuzon Sugito. (2019). Strategy of Prabowo Populism in 2019 General
Elections. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 398, p. 20.

4
Djojohadikusumo and Sumitro Djojohadikusumo, was Indonesian economist. He has

two older sisters and one younger brother, namely Biantiningsih Miderawati, Maryani

Ekowati, and Hashim Djojohadikusumo.13

Prabowo’s childhood was mostly spent abroad because he followed the duties of

his parents. He finished elementary school in Hongkong and Victoria Institution

(Malaysia), junior high school in Zurich International School (Swiss), and senior high

school in American School (Inggris).14 Due to long experiences abroade, his mastery of

foreign languages was very good. The foreign languages mastered were English,

French, German, and Dutch. After finishing of senior high school at 16 years old, he

was accepted in three universities in United States. However, because his age was still

too young, his father asked Prabowo to postpone continuing to a higher level and return

to the homeland.

After returning to the homeland, Prabowo continued his education in the National

Military Academy as ground military cadets in Magelang and finished his education in

1974.15 In his military career, he became the Special Forces Command (Kopassus) and

the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad). He gained much experience in

intelligence and counter-insurgency operations, including in East Timor, where indirect

evidence shows his involvement in the massacre of civilians in the early 1980s, as well

as various other black operations. He was also in command of the forces responsible for

violations against civilians in Aceh. In 1995, Prabowo became the Kopassus

commander and expanded his influence among the intelligence apparatus. In 1998, he

13
Ridho Abdi Winahyu. (2012). Politik Pencitraan Partai Gerindra terhadap Prabowo Subianto pada
Pilpres 2009. Disertation, p. 63.
14
Muhammad Jovan Ananda. (2021). Analisis Gaya Kepemimpinan Prabowo Subianto. ResearchGate, p.
4.
15
Op.Cit, p. 64.

5
also became the Kostrad commander and Indonesian Military Staff and Coomand

College commander.

During crisis in 1998, Prabowo continued to use his possition and ability to find a

safe place. One of his efforts at the time was building emotional closeness with Islamic

groups and developing anti-foreign sentiment. However on 12 May 1998, he was

belived to be the brain behind the Jakarta riots and masterminded the Trisakti incident.16

The political polemic in 1998 guided Prabowo to end his military career with the rank

of lieutenant general. 17

After the confrontation, Prabowo stayed in Jordan and German for several years. In

Jordan, he pursued business through PT. Tirtamas, with his younger brother, to carry

out export activities of rubber, coffee, and spices.

About seven years after leaving Indonesia, the political dynamic in government era

of KH. Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) gave him wide space to return to the homeland.

When he returned to Indonesia, he stayed to pursue business and started working in

various organizations. In education field, he became the chairman of National

Association Assembly (Universitas Kebangsaan) and the chairman of Supersemar

Student and Alumni Family Association Assembly. In sport field, he became the

chairman of Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI). In economic field, he founded

and led Indonesian self-help cooperation (KSI).

In 2004, Prabowo took part in the Golkar Party convention that screened his strong

candidates to compete on the stage of selecting presidential and vice presidential

candidates. However, he failed as candidate to step into the national stage. The failure in

16
Loc.Cit, p. 21.
17
Salsabila Nur Hafifah. (2021). Tokoh Kepemimpinan Prabowo Subianto. ResearchGate, p. 5.

6
the Golkar Party convention did not dampen his intention to continue fighting in the

political sphere.

In 2008, Prabowo was officially out of Golkar Party and actived in various people’s

organization as Indonesian Farmer Reconciliation Association (HKTI) and Indonesian

Market Traders Association (APPSI). With his involvement in some of these

organizations, Prabowo’s position determination was confirmed as a defender of the

lower middle class people (wong cilik).

The effort to articulate political ideas is very difficult for anyone who is not

involved in political parties because political parties are used as political instruments or

vehicles. Prabowo had this perception of the world, and as a result, after resigning from

the Golkar Party, he established the Gerindra Party and assumed the role of Chairman of

the Advisory Council. In 2009, Prabowo was nominated as a vice presidential candidate

along with Megawati Soekarno Putri as presidential candidate from Indonesian

Democratic Party (PDIP). However, it did not work. In the 2014 and 2019 general

elections, Prabowo run for president. However, victory was not on his side.18

Since 2014 to the present, the Extraordinary Congress of the Gerindra Party

appointed Prabowo as the General Chairman as well as the Chairman of the Advisory

Council of the Gerindra Party. On 23 October 2019, Prabowo became Indonesia's 26th

Defense Minister in the Advanced Indonesia Cabinet for the 2019-2024 period.

18
Loc.Cit, p. 69-70.

7
Currently, Prabowo becomes the Supreme Leader of the Gerindra Party and is active in

the government serving as the Minister of Defense.19

3.2. Prabowo’s Leadership

The journey of a person’s life can influence attitudes in becoming a leader.

Leadership style can also be influenced by past experiences. Seeing Prabowo’s journey

and life experience that educated and nationalist, it gave a great influence on his

leadership style. 20 Prabowo is a figure who is intelligent, has integrity, has a firm

character, has a nationalism spirit, and is sensitive to nation’s problems. 21

3.2.1. Firm Leadership Style

As the Minister of Defense in the 2019-2024 period, Prabowo has firm

leadership style. It is in view of his experiences or lessons from his early life or military

career.22 Prabowo’s attitude and behaviour reflect someone who has not forgotten the

Sevel Fold Ways, the Soldiers Oath, and the Eight Mandatory Armed Forces. 23

When he chose to join the government, he implemented a “disciplinary” maneuver.

In the real work of implementing the maneuver, Prabowo dismantled the Islamic

conservative group, Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which brought negative precedents

19
Fitria Chusna Farisa. (2022, April 16). Profil Ketua Umum Gerindra: Dari Suhardi ke Prabowo
Subianto. KOMPAS.com. https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2022/04/16/12482121/profil-ketua-umum-
gerindra-dari-suhardi-ke-prabowo-subianto?page=all
20
Loc.Cit, p. 619.
21
Hendro Agus Prakoso. (2015). Personal Branding Prabowo Subianto. Komuniti, 7(1), p. 22.
22
Edward Aspinall. (2015). Oligarchic Populism: Prabowo Subianto’s Challenge to Indonesian
Democracy. Indonesia, 99, p. 1.
23
Dirgayuza Setiawan. (2015). Nilai-nilai Pendekar Pejuang. MediaKita, p. 13-14.

8
for the country’s democratic and socio-political life. With his courage and firm in

government, he dissolve the FPI to its roots.24

Seeing from his real work, Prabowo Subianto re-positioned himself as the minister

with the most satisfying performance according to the public in four surveys conducted

by Lembaga Survei Indonesia (LSI), Arus Survei Indonesia (ASI), and Indo Barometer.

According to military and security issues expert from the Institute for Security and

Strategic Studies (ISESS), Khairul Fahmi, the level of performance is measured through

the level of success of comprehensive task implementation over a certain period of time

combined with predetermined work standards, targets, goals and criteria. In the case of

the high level of public satisfaction with Prabowo's performance as Minister of Defense

can be seen by several factors, such as popularity factors and performance factors. 25

3.2.2. Principle-Centered Leadership Style

Prabowo is also known for having principle-centered leadership style. Principles

that are consistently applied into behavioral habits will provide a vision and direction

that can be used as a tool of leadership and empowerment.26 The following are some of

the principles laid out by Prabowo in leading, as follows:

The principle of Sabda Pandhita Ratu: A leader's remarks are a promise.

Prabowo is a leader who fulfils his promises, he is very careful in making a

promise. Every promise that he made during the campaign period has been carefully

thought out, consulted with a team of experts, and ensured that it can be done. For

example, the formulation of the Gerindra Action Program, which was introduced to the

24
Pinter Politik. (2021). Jalan Politik Prabowo. Pinter Politik Publishing, p. 28-30.
25
Ibid, p. 3-5.
26
Stephen R. Covey. (1992). Principle Centered Leadership. Simon and Schuster, p. 19-20.

9
public in June 2013, took years and the results of the study of more than 100 doctors

from various sciences. He introduced the program for the 2014-2019 government

period.27

The principle of Rame Ing Gawe: Do a lot for society, but don't expect

rewards/imagery for your deeds.

Prabowo's devotion to the nation and state has never been heralded through the

media. Along the way since 2012, there have been many initiatives and real work of

Prabowo that were not recorded by the public, as follows:

a. Prabowo as the coach of equestrian polo sports in Indonesia, he succeeded in

making the Indonesian equestrian polo team consisting of peasant sons win the

Equestrian Polo Championships throughout Asia.

b. Prabowo serves as the General Chairman of the Indonesian Pencak Silat

Association (IPSI), the achievements of the national martial arts team always

fly in international championships. Prabowo often directly supervises the

national martial arts team and makes his home in the village of Bojong Koneng

where the national plates are located.

c. Prabowo as the Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Gerindra Party,

Prabowo made Gerindra a political party with the best process transparency and

financial transparency so that this party received many awards. 28

The principle of Aja Dumeh: Although our abilities are recognized by many

people, do not be arrogant, and do not overstep the situation.

27
Loc.Cit, p. 1-3.
28
Loc.Cit, p. 6-9.

10
 During the 2014 campaign, Prabowo did not highlight his language skills. There

was also an offer that went to Prabowo to hold a presidential candidate debate in

English, but he refused. He did not want the public to know that his foreign language

skills far outperformed his political opponents. 29

3.2.3. Charismatic Leadership Style

Prabowo is a leader whose style of leading is charismatic. Kartono says that

charismatic leaders have enticing vitality. It shows that despite the difficulties he

confronts, he still has devoted fans and members. His manner of speech resembled that

of a great orator. His fans were uplifted by the oration he delivered.

3.2.4. Task-Oriented Leadership Style

Prabowo also applies a task-oriented leadership style, where the leader can

define and design his role and the role of his members to achieve organizational goals.

One of the organizations led by Prabowo is the Ministry of Defense. When he took

office, he sought to follow the ministry's vision and mission. Accelerating the program

for the establishment of the Reserve Component (Komcad) is one of these options.

Since 2008, there have been discussions of establishing a Reserve Component, although

those plans have not yet been put into action. The first Army Military Command was

established in the year 2021. After that, he conducted defense diplomacy in various

countries. The purpose is to build defense equipment cooperation with other countries.

As a direct consequence of this, Indonesia and France, Indonesia and Japan, and other

countries have achieved defense cooperation.30

29
Loc.Cit, p. 26.
30
Loc.Cit, p. 620.

11
3.3. Strengths of the Prabowo’s Leadership Style

As indicated by Prabowo's election as the minister with the most gratifying

performance based on four surveys, he acquired the public's trust through his firm and

charismatic leadership style. When compared to other national leaders, Prabowo's style

of leadership that is based on principle-centered. In terms of task-oriented leadership

style, Prabowo as the Ministry of Defense can carry out his mandate excellently.

3.4. Weaknesses of the Prabowo’s Leadership Style

The creation of the 'disciplinary' maneuver is an application of Prabowo's assertive

leadership style. However, there is a side effect of the maneuver, which is that

democracy becomes pseudo because the political power is so unequal, the political

power of the government that is too great can have a counterproductive impact in the

future.31

4. Closing

4.1. Conclusion

It can be concluded that the leadership style occupies an important role in the

organization to achieve goals. A leader will need a leadership style to lead, direct, and

motivate his members to achieve the goals that have been set following certain

situations and conditions. Prabowo Subianto is a national figure who currently holds the

potential to become the leader of the Ministry of Defense, the Gerindra Party, and

several Indonesian national organizations. He learned a lot from all his past life

31
Loc.Cit, p. 31.

12
experiences so that he could become one of the national leaders whose leadership style

could not be doubted. The leadership style that characterizes him is firm and charismatic

leadership style, principle-centered leadership style, and task-oriented leadership style.

4.2. Suggestion

Prabowo’s leadership style has been recognized by many people with many proofs

from the result of his real work and awards. As a leader, Prabowo must remain

dedicated and innovative as a leader. He must care about his people and be a good

leader. I have high hopes that Prabowo, in his capacity as Minister of Defense, will

develop into a capable leader who will be able to maintain Indonesian defense stability

and will be able to effectively manage the country's government structure and system.

13
References

Books

Books with an author

Gunawan Y, 2021, Hukum Internasional: Sebuah Pendekatan Modern, LP3M UMY

Gunawan Y, 2021, Introduction to Indonesian Legal System, Yogyakarta: UMY Press.

Politik, P. (2021). Jalan Politik Prabowo. Pinter Politik Publishing.

Setiawan, D. (2015). Nilai-nilai Pendekar Pejuang. MediaKita.

Covey, S. R. (1992). Principle Centered Leadership. Simon and Schuster.

Book Chapter

Nugrahani, F. (2014). Metode Penelitian Kualitatif dalam Penelitian Pendidikan

Bahasa. Konsep Dasar Penelitian Kuantitatif (pp. 1-20). Cakra Books.

Journal Article

Journal Article with DOI

Rukmana, L., Aman, & Sugito, N. (2019). Strategy of Prabowo Populism in 2019

General Elections. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities

Research, 398, p. 20-23. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.200130.005

Aspinall, E. (2015). Oligarchic Populism: Prabowo Subianto’s Challenge to Indonesian

Democracy. Indonesia, 99, p. 1-28. https://doi.org/10.5728/indonesia.99.0001

14
Journal Article without DOI

Prakoso, H. A. (2015). Personal Branding Prabowo Subianto. Komuniti, 7(1), p. 18-24.

Amalo, G. F. P. (2015). Prabowo Subianto dan Soekarnoisme. Jurnal Interaksi, 4(2), p.

165-174.

Rengifurwarin, Z. A. (2014). Analisis Gaya Kepemimpinan: Prabowo Subianto dan

Joko Widodo. Populis, 8(2), p. 1-15.

Gunawan Y, 2014, Transboundary Haze Pollution in the Perspective of International

Law of State Responsibility, Jurnal Media Hukum, Vol 21, No 2, Yogyakarta.

Johnson, S. (2013). Leadership Skills, Job Satisfaction, and Motivation in the

Workplace: A Phenomenological Research Study. Dissertation, p. 30-31.

Winahyu, R. A. (2012). Politik Pencitraan Partai Gerindra terhadap Prabowo

Subianto pada Pilpres 2009. Disertation, p. 62-68.

Journal Article with URL

Pangestu, L. G., & Almubaroq, H. Z. (2022). Leadership Style of the Minister of

Defense of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto. International Journal of

Research and Innovation in Social Science, 6(3), p. 617-621.

www.rsisinternational.org

Ananda, M. J. (2021). Analisis Gaya Kepemimpinan Prabowo Subianto. ResearchGate,

p. 1-13.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352553635_ANALISIS_GAYA_KEP

EMIMPINAN_PRABOWO_SUBIANTO

15
 Hafifah, S. N. (2021). Tokoh Kepemimpinan Prabowo Subianto. ResearchGate, p. 1-11.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352509635_TOKOH_KEPEMIMPIN

AN_PRABOWO_SUBIANTO

Rahma, M. A., Irrynta, D., Haque, A. Y. I. (2019). The Role of Erdogan in Developing

Turkey. ResearchGate, p. 1-20.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333486441_The_Role_of_Erdogan_in

_Developing_Turkey

Webpage

News with Author

Farisa, F. C. (2022, April 16). Profil Ketua Umum Gerindra: Dari Suhardi ke Prabowo

Subianto. KOMPAS.com.

https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2022/04/16/12482121/profil-ketua-umum-

gerindra-dari-suhardi-ke-prabowo-subianto?page=all

News without Author

Indonesia adalah Negara dan Negara adalah Organisasi. (2015, June 26).

Kompasiana.

https://www.kompasiana.com/ryzafardiansyah/55019794a3331118705136b8/ind

onesia-adalah-negara-dan-negara-adalah-organisasi?page=all#section1

16

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