Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono - Early Life

Early Life

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was born in Tremas, a village in Arjosari, Pacitan Regency, East Java, to a lower-middle-class family and is the son of Raden Soekotjo and Siti Habibah.

His name is Javanese, with Sanskrit roots. Susilo comes from the words su-, meaning good and -sila, meaning behaviour, conduct or moral. Bambang is a traditional boy name in Javanese, meaning knight. Yudhoyono comes from the words yuddha -meaning battle, fight; and yana, meaning journey. Thus his name roughly translates to `well behaved knight`.

Yudhoyono had wanted to join the army since he was a child. In school, he developed a reputation as 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.

When he was in fifth grade, Yudhoyono visited the Indonesian Armed Forces Academy (AKABRI). After seeing the soldiers training there and perhaps inspired by his own father's career, Yudhoyono became determined to join Indonesian Armed Forces and become a soldier. Yudhoyono planned to enlist after graduating from high school in 1968; however, he missed the registration period.

Yudhoyono then became a student at the Tenth of November Institute of Technology before entering the Vocational Education Development Center in Malang, East Java. There, he was able to prepare everything for the next phase of his education at Akabri. Yudhoyono officially entered AKABRI in 1970 after passing the test in Bandung.