President Jokowi Inaugurates New Air Force Chief of Staff

President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo (Jokowi) on Wednesday (18/1) at the State Palace inaugurated former Defense Ministry’s Inspector General, Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, as the new Air Force Chief of Staff.

Hadi replaced retiring Air Chief Marshall Agus Supriatna, whose tenure will end this month.

The inauguration of the new Air Force Chief of Staff was done based on Decree of the President of the Republic of Indonesia Number 2/TNI/2017 on the Dismissal and Inauguration of Air Force Chief of Staff dated 17 January 2017.

After being inaugurated, in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Indonesia Number 3/TNI/2017, Hadi is to be promoted to become Marshall.

The inauguration ceremony began with the singing of national anthem Indonesia Raya performed by a group from the Presidential Security Detail (Paspampres).

After the newly appointed Air Force Chief of Staff took an oath, the signing of the minutes of the inauguration ceremony was done directly before President Jokowi. The ceremony ended with the guests attending the ceremony congratulating Hadi.

Also attending the inauguration ceremony were Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR RI) Zulkifli Hasan, Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) Setya Novanto, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Wiranto, Commander of the Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI) General Gatot Nurmantyo, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Ignasius Jonan, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti, Minister of State Secretary Pratikno, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, Minister of Defense Ryamizard Ryacudu, Minister of Religious Affairs Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, Presidential Chief of Staff Teten Masduki, and Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi.

Hadi Tjahjanto, a 1986 Air Force Academy graduate, was Defense Ministry’s Inspector General and Military Secretary of President Jokowi since 2015 until 10 October 2016. Between 2010 until 2011, he was assigned as Commander of Adi Soemarmo Air Force Base in Solo, while in 2015 he was assigned as Commander of the Malang Abdurrahman Saleh Air Force Base in East Java.  He was also appointed as Head of Information Division of the Air Force for the period of 2013-2015.  (FID/ES)  (EP/YM/Naster)