Dewi Sukarno
Encyclopedia
, born , is a Japan
ese socialite
and one of the wives of former Indonesia
n leader Sukarno
.
to Japan. Prior to becoming Sukarno's wife, she was an art student and entertainer. There were rumors of her having worked as a bar hostess, but she has repeatedly denied this. She had one daughter, Kartika, with Sukarno. Sukarno was overthrown by General Suharto in a 1967 coup, and died three years later.
Dewi Sukarno, who moved to Europe
after Sukarno's ouster, has lived in many different countries, including Switzerland
, France
, and the United States
. As of 2008 she resides in Shibuya
, Tokyo
, Japan, where she lives in a spacious, four-storey, memorabilia-filled residence.
Dewi Sukarno is known for her outspoken personality. She is often referred to as . Her full name is , but she is commonly referred to simply as "Madame Dewi". She made appearances in the news media after the January 2008 death of her husband's successor Suharto, blaming him for instituting a repressive regime and likening him to Cambodia
n despot
Pol Pot
.
As of 2008 Dewi Sukarno runs her own jewelry and cosmetics businesses, and is active in charity fund raising. She makes occasional appearances on Japanese TV shows, and has served as a judge for beauty contests, such as the 2005 Miss International
pageant held in Tokyo.
, Colorado
, United States
with fellow international socialite and heiress
Minnie Osmeña, granddaughter of a former president
of the Philippines
. Tensions already existed between the two, beginning with an exchange at another party several months before, where Dewi was heard to laugh when Osmena declared her political plans, among which was the desire to run for the office of Philippine vice president. The Aspen spat, reportedly triggered by an allusion made by Osmena to Dewi's past, culminated in Dewi hitting Osmena in the face with a wine glass, leaving a gash that needed 37 stitches to repair. Dewi was jailed for 34 days in Aspen for disorderly conduct after the incident.
Two years later, she posed for a book of photographs that was published in her native Japan (well known as "madame de syuga"), where some of the images featured her partially naked, and others showed what appeared to be tattoo-like body art
. The book, while not distributed in Indonesia
, was immediately banned, with many Indonesians feeling offended by what was perceived to be the besmirching of the Sukarno name and legacy.
. She has worked with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), and has expressed the wish to help refugees as well as people living under regimes like North Korea. When asked to comment about the reign of Megawati Sukarnoputri
, her stepdaughter, who also served as a leader of Indonesia, all she replied was, "I think Megawati is gradually doing whatever she can. It's not easy being a woman president in a Muslim country."
the character Yukika Karakuri/Deb Sukarno/"Lady Deb" is a parody of Dewi Sukarno.
In Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei "President Sukarno" is on a list of "impressive things that are overshadowed"; "Madame Dewi" is what overshadows him.
On Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende she had a cameo appearance during the 2009 No Laughing Hotelman Batsu Game as a taxi driver.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese socialite
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
and one of the wives of former Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n leader Sukarno
Sukarno
Sukarno, born Kusno Sosrodihardjo was the first President of Indonesia.Sukarno was the leader of his country's struggle for independence from the Netherlands and was Indonesia's first President from 1945 to 1967...
.
Biography
Dewi Sukarno met the 57-year-old Sukarno when she was 19, when the then-Indonesian president was on a state visitState visit
A state visit is a formal visit by a foreign head of state to another nation, at the invitation of that nation's head of state. State visits are the highest form of diplomatic contact between two nations, and are marked by ceremonial pomp and diplomatic protocol. In parliamentary democracies, heads...
to Japan. Prior to becoming Sukarno's wife, she was an art student and entertainer. There were rumors of her having worked as a bar hostess, but she has repeatedly denied this. She had one daughter, Kartika, with Sukarno. Sukarno was overthrown by General Suharto in a 1967 coup, and died three years later.
Dewi Sukarno, who moved to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
after Sukarno's ouster, has lived in many different countries, including Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As of 2008 she resides in Shibuya
Shibuya, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, it has an estimated population of 208,371 and a population density of 13,540 persons per km². The total area is 15.11 km²....
, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan, where she lives in a spacious, four-storey, memorabilia-filled residence.
Dewi Sukarno is known for her outspoken personality. She is often referred to as . Her full name is , but she is commonly referred to simply as "Madame Dewi". She made appearances in the news media after the January 2008 death of her husband's successor Suharto, blaming him for instituting a repressive regime and likening him to Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
n despot
Despotism
Despotism is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. That entity may be an individual, as in an autocracy, or it may be a group, as in an oligarchy...
Pol Pot
Pol Pot
Saloth Sar , better known as Pol Pot, , was a Cambodian Maoist revolutionary who led the Khmer Rouge from 1963 until his death in 1998. From 1976 to 1979, he served as the Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea....
.
As of 2008 Dewi Sukarno runs her own jewelry and cosmetics businesses, and is active in charity fund raising. She makes occasional appearances on Japanese TV shows, and has served as a judge for beauty contests, such as the 2005 Miss International
Miss International
Miss International is an annual international beauty pageant held since 1960.The current Miss International is Fernanda Cornejo, from Ecuador...
pageant held in Tokyo.
Controversies
In January 1992, Dewi became involved in a much-publicized altercation in a party in AspenAspen
Populus section Populus, of the Populus genus, includes the aspen trees and the white poplar Populus alba. The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitudes in the mountains. The White Poplar, by...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with fellow international socialite and heiress
Beneficiary
A beneficiary in the broadest sense is a natural person or other legal entity who receives money or other benefits from a benefactor. For example: The beneficiary of a life insurance policy, is the person who receives the payment of the amount of insurance after the death of the insured...
Minnie Osmeña, granddaughter of a former president
Sergio Osmeña
Sergio Osmeña y Suico was a Filipino politician who served as the 4th President of the Philippines from 1944 to 1946. He was Vice President under Manuel L. Quezon, and rose to the presidency upon Quezon's death in 1944, being the oldest Philippine president to hold office at age 65...
of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. Tensions already existed between the two, beginning with an exchange at another party several months before, where Dewi was heard to laugh when Osmena declared her political plans, among which was the desire to run for the office of Philippine vice president. The Aspen spat, reportedly triggered by an allusion made by Osmena to Dewi's past, culminated in Dewi hitting Osmena in the face with a wine glass, leaving a gash that needed 37 stitches to repair. Dewi was jailed for 34 days in Aspen for disorderly conduct after the incident.
Two years later, she posed for a book of photographs that was published in her native Japan (well known as "madame de syuga"), where some of the images featured her partially naked, and others showed what appeared to be tattoo-like body art
Body art
Body art is art made on, with, or consisting of, the human body. The most common forms of body art are tattoos and body piercings, but other types include scarification, branding, scalpelling, shaping , full body tattoo and body painting.More extreme body art can involve things such as mutilation...
. The book, while not distributed in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, was immediately banned, with many Indonesians feeling offended by what was perceived to be the besmirching of the Sukarno name and legacy.
Political Activities
After leaving Indonesia after the 1967 coup that ousted her husband, Dewi has had little involvement with Indonesian politicsPolitics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
. She has worked with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), and has expressed the wish to help refugees as well as people living under regimes like North Korea. When asked to comment about the reign of Megawati Sukarnoputri
Megawati Sukarnoputri
In this Indonesian name, the name "Sukarnoputri" is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name "Megawati"....
, her stepdaughter, who also served as a leader of Indonesia, all she replied was, "I think Megawati is gradually doing whatever she can. It's not easy being a woman president in a Muslim country."
Appearances in Pop Culture
In Nerima Daikon BrothersNerima Daikon Brothers
is a manga and 12 episode comedy anime series that follows the adventures of two brothers Hideki, Ichiro, and Mako who form the band, "Nerima Daikon Brothers."...
the character Yukika Karakuri/Deb Sukarno/"Lady Deb" is a parody of Dewi Sukarno.
In Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei "President Sukarno" is on a list of "impressive things that are overshadowed"; "Madame Dewi" is what overshadows him.
On Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende she had a cameo appearance during the 2009 No Laughing Hotelman Batsu Game as a taxi driver.
External links
- Dewi Sukarno, JapanZone