President Sukarno And His Women

The personality of Indonesia's first president is controversial but undeniably significant. A messiah and a dictator "in one bottle," Ahmed Sukarno has forever entered both Indonesian and world history.

Comrade Karno (as his contemporaries and compatriots called him) was an incredibly charismatic person, with a light-hearted nature and the skills of a brilliant psychologist.

As we can see from the photographs, Sukarno was a cheerful person. Even Fidel Castro paled in comparison to him. But this was not what set him apart from many other presidents...

More than anything else, Sukarno was fascinated by women. And women went crazy for him. This is evident from Marilyn Monroe's reactions. Sukarno explained his attraction to women as a love for beauty. Well, that's what everyone says; let's see how it played out in reality.

When Sukarno was already president, knowing his weakness for women, the CIA even tried to use Marilyn Monroe for their purposes. During the filming of the movie "Bus Stop" in 1956, Monroe met with the President of Indonesia. Initially, she had no idea who he was—she simply called him Prince Sukarno.

However, Marilyn and the Indonesian president developed a mutual affection. "The evening was drawing to a close, and they kept disappearing somewhere," recalled "Bus Stop" director Joshua Logan. "The atmosphere was, to put it mildly, very sexual. I think they arranged to meet later."

Many years later, Sukarno told his biographer that Marilyn, who also lived in Beverly Hills (where the reception was held), called him in his room and requested a private meeting. Although Sukarno, who loved to boast about his romantic conquests, typically would have shared more details, he uncharacteristically remained silent about Marilyn.

Now, let's go through all of his wives, of whom there were indeed quite a few.

Sukarno first married at the age of 20 (that is, in 1921) to the daughter of his teacher, Utari. She was 14 at that time. Unfortunately, there are no photographs of Carnot’s first wife in her youth on the Internet. But by the time of his marriage, Sukarno was already delirious about politics, and he had no time for his wife. Utari remained a virgin. After some time they divorced.

Sukarno moved to Bandung, where he enrolled in the Bandung Institute of Technology. He rented an apartment in the house of a lecturer named Sanusi and immediately fell in love with Sanusi's wife, Inggit Garnasih, who was 12 years older than Sukarno. Two years later, Inggit divorced Sanusi and married Sukarno. Although Inggit and Sukarno lived together harmoniously for over twenty years, they did not have any children. A movie has been made about Inggit's life in Indonesia.

Inggid  passed away at the age of 96, outliving Sukarno by 14 years.

In 1938, still in exile, Sukarno was transferred to the south of Sumatra Island, where he began teaching at a local school. There, he fell in love once again, this time with one of his students named Fatmawati. Initially, Sukarno wanted to marry Fatmawati without divorcing his 50-year-old wife, Inggid. However, Inggid firmly rejected this option and filed for divorce.

Look at this happy photograph!

In June 1943, through his representative (again, as permitted by Islamic law), Sukarno married Fatmawati in absentia. To Sukarno's indescribable joy, Fatmawati gave birth to his son a year later, whom they named Guntur, meaning "thunder." And then four more children followed. One of Sukarno's daughters from this marriage ruled Indonesia in the early 21st century.

You think that's all? Far from it! It's just the beginning! In 1953, at one of the high society receptions, Sukarno met Hartini, who was destined to become his fourth wife. Hartini already had five children from her first marriage, but that didn't stop Sukarno. Plus, everyone unanimously speaks of her extraordinary beauty.

Fatmawati refused to accept Sukarno's new marriage and left him. After complex negotiations, it was agreed that Fatmawati would formally remain the "first lady" of the state, while Hartini became Sukarno's wife not as the president but as a private individual. Hartini bore him two more children.

The fifth wife was perhaps the most beautiful. Japanese Naoki Nemoto still remains among the world's elite beauties. Sukarno gave her the grand Indonesian name "Ratna Sari Dewi" (the Japanese converted to Islam), which roughly translates to "beauty, flower of the goddess." She was, to put it mildly, "set up" by Japanese businessmen who had their eyes on the Indonesian market. Their setup was successful. Dewi was Sukarno's most beloved wife, as confirmed, among other things, by Sukarno's will. "When I die," his will read, "bury me under a shady tree. I will leave behind the wife I love with all my soul. Her name is Ratna Sari Dewi. When she dies, bury her next to me in the same grave."

That's a very telling photograph indeed: Sukarno is lost in thought, while Dewi is working hard on his behalf. And, it must be acknowledged, it turned out that way in real life too. By that time, Sukarno had begun to face political problems within the country. Intelligent and energetic, Dewi did a lot to help resolve matters in her husband's favor.

As the situation in the country became increasingly complex, Sukarno sent the pregnant Dewi to Japan. In March of the following year, she gave birth to a daughter, whom they named Karina, or Kartika in Indonesian, meaning "star."

After her husband's death, Dewi fully embraced the socialite life. Her friends and admirers included Gina Lollobrigida, Omar Sharif, Pierre Cardin, Spanish billionaire Francisco Paesa (who courted Dewi), former Romanian king Michael, King Hussein of Jordan, and former Iranian queen Soraya.

Alongside Dewi, the elderly Sukarno had two more new wives. In 1964, Sukarno married the equally charming fair-skinned Yurike Sanger from the island of Sulawesi. Yurike was a university student who was part of the "beauty parade" accompanying the president during official ceremonies. On the right is Yurike pictured in recent times.

A year later, he married for the seventh and final time—to 23-year-old Harjati, an employee of the state secretariat. They divorced three years later.

Further on, for all sources, like for me, it becomes quite challenging to keep track of his marriages and divorces. That's why Carini Manoppo and Hedi Jufar almost always drop out of the general list. Well, it's not surprising! Did Sukarno himself remember all of them, especially in old age?

Below is a summary table of Comrade Karno's romantic adventures - click for a higher resolution version. Explore to your heart's content!