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Joko Widodo (popularly known as Jokowi; born 21 June 1961) is the seventh President of Indonesia, in office since 2014. Previously he was the Mayor of Surakarta from 2005 to 2012 and Governor of Jakarta from 2012 to 2014. He is the first Indonesian president without a high-ranking political or military background.

     Jokowi was nominated by his party, the Indonesian PDI Perjuangan, to run in the 2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election with Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (often known as Ahok) as his running mate. Jokowi was elected as Governor of Jakarta on 20 September 2012 after a second round runoff election in which he defeated the incumbent governor Fauzi Bowo. Jokowi's win was widely seen as reflecting popular voter support for "new" or "clean" leaders rather than the "old" style of politics in Indonesia.

     His nomination as PDI-P candidate for the 2014 presidential election was announced on 14 March 2014. The presidential election was held on 9 July 2014. After some controversy about the result of the election, Jokowi was named as president-elect on 22 July. He was formally declared as the winner of the election by the General Elections Commission (Komisi Pemilihan Umum or KPU), winning more than 53% of the vote over his opponent, Prabowo Subianto, who disputed the outcome and withdrew from the race before the count was completed.

     Joko Widodo, who was awarded third pace in the 2012 World Mayor Project, became the elected governor of Jakarta in October 2012 after serving as mayor of Surakarta (Solo) since 2005. During his time as Mayor of Surakarta, Joko Widodo (Jokowi) turned the crime-ridden city into a regional centre for arts and culture, which has started to attract international tourism. His campaign against corruption earned him the description of being the most honest politician in Indonesia. Joko Widodo’s victory over Jakarta’s incumbent governor Fauzi Bowo was largely due to his track record as mayor of his home town and his reputation for honesty and humility.