Muhammad Herindra

Muhammad Herindra (born 30 November 1964) is an Indonesian retired general who is currently serving as Indonesia's deputy minister of defence under Prabowo Subianto. He has held the office since 23 December 2020.

Early life
Herindra was born on 30 November 1964 in Magelang, Central Java. Herindra's father, Hudaya, was a retired lieutenant colonel who worked in a fertilizer company.

Herindra spent most of his childhood in Magelang. He completed his secondary education at the 1st Magelang Junior High School in 1980. He then moved to Jakarta, where he completed his high school education at the 8th Jakarta Senior High School in 1983. Herindra currently chairs the school's alumni association.

Military education
Herindra entered the Indonesian Military Academy the same year after he completed high school. He was commissioned as an infantry second lieutenant upon graduating from the academy in 1987. He was a recipient of the Adhi Makayasa award, a distinction given to the best graduate of each class in the academy.

Upon completing his military education, Herindra was selected to join Kopassus, Indonesia's army special forces unit. He underwent infantry and special forces training before joining the unit. In his later career, he also received advanced military education in the Indonesian Army Command and General Staff College from 1999 until 2000, and the Malaysian Armed Forces Staff College in 2011.

Herindra earned a master's degree in intelligence and international relations from the University of Salford in 1994 and another in social sciences from the National University of Malaysia in 2011.

Military career
Herindra began his career as junior officer for training and organization in Kopassus. He held various commanding and non-commanding position in Kopassus, including a stint as Kopassus's public information officer in 2000. He eventually reached the rank of lieutenant colonel in 2001 and became the commander of the 812th Kopassus Infantry Battalion, a support battalion for the 81th Counterterrorism Special Unit.

Herindra underwent his first military assignment outside Kopassus as senior assistant officer for intelligence in the Bukit Barisan (North Sumatra) Regional Military Command. Less than a year later, he was transferred to Bengkalis in Riau as the regency's military district commander. Herindra was involved in countering rampant illegal logging and returned 27 tons of illegal logs in 2005.

Herindra was reassigned to the Indonesian Military Academy in 2007 as the deputy commander of the cadet corps. Less than a year later, in 2008 Herindra became the intelligence assistant to Kopassus commander Pramono Edhie Wibowo. He was rotated to the Jakarta Regional Military Command on 14 May 2009 to hold the same position.

On 29 July 2010, Herindra was relieved from his position as intelligence assistant. He was posted to the Army Intelligence Center as the director for research and development. After receiving his master's degree from the National University of Malaysia in 2011, Herindra was appointed by Pramono Edhie Wibowo, who had already became the army chief of staff, as his personal staff coordinator.

Herindra returned to territorial office on 15 June 2012 as the Commander of the Antasari Military Area, covering the South Kalimantan province. During his tenure in South Kalimantan, Herindra oversaw changes in several key positions in the military area. He visited districts in South Kalimantan to consolidate relations with the local government. Herindra also received the honorary Bhayangkara Bahari Utama (Chief Naval Police) brevet from South Kalimantan's water police.

On 10 June 2013, Herindra was appointed the deputy commanding general of Kopassus. He was installed on 8 July and continued to held dual office until 24 July.

Personal life
Herindra is married to Eka Diyah Rusyati, a dentist. The couple has a son named Arief Akbar Herlambang. Arief's marriage in December 2022 was attended by President Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto, who acted as the wedding witnesses.