AWAJI ISLAND, Hyogo Pref. -- In the turmoil following the resignation of Indonesian President Suharto in May 1998, the reins of power passed to Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, then 62 years old.
Habibie led the country for a single but turbulent year that saw massacres in East Timor, the rise of separatist movements in Irian Jaya and Aceh, and mass protests on the streets of Jakarta.
His surprise announcement in February 1999 that he would allow a referendum on independence for East Timor led to the eventual abatement of that prolonged conflict, and during his brief tenure, he managed to put the country on the road to what he terms "accelerated evolution."