Topic: Bambang Yudhoyono

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (pronounced /suːsiːlɵ bɑːmbɑːŋ juːdɒjɵnɵ/; born September 9, 1949), is an Indonesian retired military general and the sixth and current President of Indonesia. Yudhoyono won the 2004 Indonesian presidential election defeating incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri. Widely known as "SBY", he was sworn into office on October 20, 2004, together with Jusuf Kalla as Vice President. He is currently running for re-election together with Boediono.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was born in Tremas, a village in Arjosari, Pacitan, East Java, to a lower-middle class family and is the son of Raden Soekotjo and Siti Habibah. Since he was a child, he wanted to be in the army. Yudhoyono developed a reputation as an extremely talented student in addition to being an academic achiever, excelling in writing poems, short stories, and play-acting. Yudhoyono was also talented in music and sport, reflected when he and his friends established a volleyball club called "Klub Rajawali" and a band called "Gaya Teruna". Music became a hobby for Yudhoyono and he often sang one of his favorite songs, "Pelangi di Matamu" during his presidential campaign.

When he was in 5th grade, Yudhoyono visited the National Military Academy (AMN) at Magelang. After seeing the soldiers training there and perhaps inspired by his own father's career, Yudhoyono became determined to join ABRI and become a soldier. Yudhoyono had originally wanted to get into the ABRI Academy (Akabri) after graduating from high school in 1968, however, he missed out because he did not register in time.