The president, elected for a 5-year term, is the dominant government and political figure. The president and the vice president were elected by popular vote for the first time on September 20, 2004. Previously, the MPR selected Indonesiaís president. In 1999, the MPR selected Abdurrahman Wahid, also known as Gus Dur, as the fourth President. Wahid proved unable to govern effectively and the MPR impeached him in July 2001, immediately appointing then-Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri as the fifth President. Although Megawati brought a certain amount of stability back to the country, her progress in combating corruption and improving the economy was not enough to satisfy the electorate, and in September 2004 Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was elected as her replacement.

The president, assisted by a cabinet that he appoints, has the authority to conduct the administration of the government. President Yudhoyonoís Democratic Party (PD), holds only 55 seats out of 550 seats in the House of Representatives (DPR), making it the fifth-largest in the legislature, although as of mid-2006, Yudhoyono also had the support of other political parties that, combined, hold a majority of the seats in the DPR. The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) has 678 members, consisting of the 550 members of the DPR and the 128 representatives of the House of Regional Representatives (DPD), which includes four members from each of Indonesiaís 32 provinces. Since 2004, all seats in the DPR and DPD have been held by legislators elected by the citizenry; previously, some seats had been reserved for representatives of the armed forces (TNI).

The armed forces shaped and provided leadership for Soeharto's New Order from the time it came to power in the wake of the abortive 1965 uprising. Military officers, especially from the army, were key advisers to Soeharto and Habibie and had considerable influence on policy. Under the dual function concept ("dwifungsi"), the military asserted a continuing role in socio-political affairs. This concept was used to justify placement of officers to serve in the civilian bureaucracy at all government levels. Although the military retains influence and is one of the only truly national institutions, the wide-ranging democratic reforms instituted since 1999 abolished "dwifungsi" and ended the armed forces' formal involvement in government administration. The police have been separated from the military, further reducing the military's direct role in governmental matters. Control of the military by the democratically elected government has been strengthened.

The Embassy of Indonesia is at 2020 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 (tel. 202-775-5200-5207; fax: 202-775-5365). Consulates General are in New York (5 East 68th Street, New York, NY 10021, tel. 212-879-0600/0615; fax: 212-570-6206); Los Angeles (3457 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90010; tel. 213-383-5126; fax: 213-487-3971); Houston (10900 Richmond Ave., Houston, TX 77042; tel. 713-785-1691; fax: 713-780-9644). Consulates are in San Francisco (1111 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94133; tel. 415-474-9571; fax: 415-441-4320); and Chicago (2 Illinois Center, Suite 1422233 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60601; tel. 312-938-0101/4; 312-938-0311/0312; fax: 312-938-3148).