Republic of Indonesia

State · 1946–2026 CE · at its largest around 1976 CE

The Southeast Asian archipelago state proclaimed independent by Sukarno in 1945, which won Dutch recognition after a four-year struggle. Suharto's New Order ruled from the late 1960s until 1998.

On its lands while it lasted

Sukarno (1901 CE – 1970 CE): Leader of the Indonesian nationalist movement who proclaimed independence in 1945 and was the country's first president until 1967.
Suharto (1921 CE – 2008 CE): Army general who seized power after 1965 and ruled Indonesia as president under the authoritarian New Order until 1998.
Lee Kuan Yew (1923 CE – 2015 CE): Founding prime minister of Singapore (1959–1990), who oversaw its transformation into a wealthy trading and financial hub.
Indonesian National Revolution (1945–1949 CE): Armed struggle and diplomacy against the returning Dutch that ended with the Netherlands recognising Indonesian sovereignty in December 1949.
Malayan Emergency (1948–1960 CE): Guerrilla war between the Malayan National Liberation Army and British and Commonwealth forces in colonial Malaya.
Bandung Conference (1955 CE): Meeting of 29 newly independent Asian and African states in April 1955, a forerunner of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Putrajaya (c. 1963 CE): Capital of Malaysia (1963–today).
Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66 (1965–1966 CE): Army-led killings of alleged communists and others after a failed coup attempt, in which an estimated 500,000 to one million people died; Suharto rose to power.
Singapore (1965 CE): Capital of Republic of Singapore (1967–today).
Independence of Singapore (1965 CE): Singapore separated from Malaysia and became an independent republic on 9 August 1965 under Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
Indonesian occupation of East Timor (1975–1999 CE): Indonesia invaded and annexed East Timor in 1975; the occupation caused more than 100,000 deaths, and East Timor voted for independence in 1999.
Homo floresiensis discovered (2003 CE): Remains of a small archaic human species, nicknamed the 'hobbit', found in Liang Bua cave on Flores in 2003.
2004 tsunami (2004 CE): A magnitude 9.1–9.3 earthquake off Sumatra on 26 December 2004 generated tsunamis that killed about 230,000 people in 14 countries, most of them in Aceh.
Nusantara (2022 CE): Indonesia's planned new capital, under construction on Borneo since 2022.