President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, is listed in 'Top 100 Leading Global Thinkers of 2016' by Foreign Policy magazine for 'forging a shaky parth toward historical reckoning'. He is in the top list along with, among others, Demoratic Nominee for U.S. President Hillary Clinton, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, and Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.
Foreign Policy Magazine quote:
"In April, the Indonesian government—with the blessing of President Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi—participated in a symposium alongside academics, an independent national commission on human rights, and survivors to discuss a topic previously unthinkable for Jakarta: the 1965 military-backed massacres of hundreds of thousands of suspected Communist sympathizers. Shortly thereafter, Jokowi instructed a top official to begin gathering information about reported mass graves. Although some fear the announcement was a shallow attempt to appease human rights groups that have criticized the administration for failing to stand up to military right-wingers, the investigation could prove to be Jokowi’s first step toward a fuller reckoning with Indonesia’s past atrocities."
Notable Facts:
Jokowi is Indonesia’s first president not to come from the political elite or upper ranks of the military. Before entering politics, he sold furniture.
Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo gave Jokowi, a die-hard fan of hard rock and heavy metal, a signed bass guitar, which the president handed over to the Corruption Eradication Commission to comply with the law regarding gifts to politicians.
Source : Foreign Policy
