Megawati Sukarnoputri was born January 23, 1947 to Sukarno, the first president of a free Indonesia who declared independence from the Dutch & Fatmawati, one of his nine wives. She grew up in the Merdeka Palace, gardening as a hobby and would eventually go on to study agriculture at Padjarjaran University before dropping out to be with her father as he relinquished power. For the next decade or so, Megawati spend her days as a housewife but in 1987, she joined the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) where she was eventually elected to the People’s Representative Council. Despite not winning her reelection campaign, she remained a part of the PDI and was deeply popular because of her affiliation with her father and because she was seen as free from corruption that plagued so many of her fellow politicians. In 1999, she ran for President but lost to Wahid, causing her supporters to riot but in the subsequent weeks she was elected Vice President by a wide margin. Throughout her vice presidency, her relationship with President Wahid was strained & in 2001 when voters removed him from office, Megawati stepped in as President, becoming the sixth woman the lead a Muslim majority country. Her presidency was controversial, with many criticizing the indecisiveness & inaction that marked her presidency and others applauding the democratization process she encouraged throughout her reign. In 2004, she ran for re-election but lost to her opponent by a wide margin. She remained active in politics, running against for president in 2009 and continuing to lead the PDI from 2015 to 2020.