New President Subianto swears in Indonesia's largest Cabinet since 1966, with 109 members

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Newly inaugurated President Prabowo Subianto swore in Indonesia's largest Cabinet since 1966 on Monday, with 109 members representing his pledge for a strong government.

He announced the lineup late Sunday and named his Cabinet of ministers, vice ministers and head of national agencies the “Red and White Cabinet,” referring to the colors of Indonesia’s flag.

Subianto became the eighth president of Southeast Asia’s largest economy on Sunday.

The Cabinet of Subianto’s predecessor, Joko Widodo, had 34 ministers and head of government agencies. Subianto's Cabinet is the largest since 1966 when Indonesia’s first President Sukarno formed a lineup of 132 ministers in an extremely tense political situation after a failed 1965 coup. The so-called Dwikora Cabinet 2 was dismissed a month later.

Subianto has said earlier that he needs a strong administration, even though analysts said that his “fat” Cabinet would bloat the bureaucracy.

“I want to create a strong government that would unite our multicultural society and diverse political interests,” Subianto said before inviting more than 100 people for interviews at his residence last week. “It must be a big coalition, and some will say my Cabinet is fat.”

The Cabinet features politicians from a coalition of seven parties who supported his victory in the February election, and figures allied with Widodo’s Cabinet, who were reappointed to continue their jobs under Subianto’s presidency. Analysts said the move was a political reward to Widodo for the latter’s tacit support in the election.

Subianto was sworn in with his new vice president, 37-year-old Surakarta ex-Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka. He chose Raka, who is Widodo’s son, as his running mate, with Widodo favoring Subianto over the candidate of his own former party. The former rivals became tacit allies, even though Indonesian presidents don’t typically endorse candidates.

Subianto was a longtime rival of the Widodo, who ran against him for the presidency twice and refused to accept his defeat on both occasions, in 2014 and 2019.

But Widodo appointed Subianto as defense chief after his reelection, paving the way for an alliance despite their rival political parties. During the campaign, Subianto ran as the popular outgoing president’s heir, vowing to continue signature policies like the construction of a multibillion-dollar new capital city and limits on exporting raw materials intended to boost domestic industry.

Backed by Widodo, Subianto swept to a landslide victory in February’s direct presidential election on promises of policy continuity.

Subianto reappointed nearly half of Widodo’s Cabinet members, including Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, making her the first person to hold the ministry under three different presidents.

Indrawati, 62, who has served as the executive director of the International Monetary Fund and managing director of the World Bank, is one of Indonesia’s longest-serving finance ministers, having held the post for long stretches under Presidents Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Joko Widodo.

She has earned considerable respect in international circles, particularly for her reforms of the chaotic Indonesian taxation system and her role in steering Indonesia through the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We regularly consulted with each other to discuss strategies for strengthening the Finance Ministry and the state finances to support his programs,” Indrawati told reporters after meeting with Subianto last week.

Other ministers from Widodo’s Cabinet include Interior Minister Tito Karnavian, Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan, Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia and State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir.

Subianto has announced an ambitious goal of increasing annual economic growth to 8% by the end of his five-year term, and embarking on an ambitious spending program, including an increase in defense spending, hikes in civil servants’ salaries, and a program to give 83 million children free meals.

This story has been corrected to show the largest Indonesian Cabinet was formed in 1966.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, right, congratulates newly-appointed Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Budi Gunawan during the swearing-in ceremony of the new cabinet ministers at the presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, center, Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, right, and Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Budi Gunawan, left, applaud after the swearing-in ceremony of the new cabinet ministers at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Indonesia's newly appointed cabinet ministers salute during their swearing-in ceremony at the presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto salutes during the swearing-in ceremony of the new cabinet ministers at the presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Front row, from left, Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Economics Airlangga Hartarto, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Budi Gunawan, President Prabowo Subianto, Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Coordinating Minister for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Affairs Yusril Ihza Mahendra, and Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs Pratikno pose for a group photo with newly-appointed ministers during the swearing-in ceremony of the new cabinet at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, center, takes his position for a group photo with newly-appointed cabinet ministers after their swearing-in ceremony at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Indonesia's new President Prabowo Subianto, foreground, and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, right, greet newly-appointed deputy ministers during the announcement of their cabinet lineup at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Indonesia's new President Prabowo Subianto, center, announces his cabinet lineup of newly-appointed ministers, at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Indonesia's new President Prabowo Subianto, center, and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, left, shake hands with newly-appointed ministers after announcing their cabinet lineup at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Newly appointed cabinet ministers stand behind Indonesia's new President Prabowo Subianto, center, as he announces his cabinet lineup at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Indonesia's new President Prabowo Subianto, center, announces his cabinet lineup of newly-appointed ministers, at Merdeka Palace, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.

Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.

“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.

"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.

Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.

Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.

Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.

At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.

Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.

Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.

After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.

“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”

Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.

Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.

His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.

“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”

Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.

FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)