Prabowo’s childhood was marked by constraints due to his father’s political activism, which led to living outside Indonesia starting from third grade. Despite this, his love for Indonesia, instilled by his parents and grandfather, motivated him to choose the National Military Academy over attending a prestigious American university, despite his academic accomplishments in high school.
In Jakarta, Prabowo divided his time between his father’s home on Jalan Kertanegara, Kebayoran Baru, and his grandfather’s residence on Jalan Matraman, located next to K.H. Hasyim Asyari’s home, the grandfather of Indonesia’s fourth president, Gus Dur.
Prabowo also lived in Switzerland due to political disputes between Prof. Sumitro and President Sukarno concerning the involvement of the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) in Sukarno’s government. The surveillance of Prof. Sumitro’s overseas residence by intelligence services prompted the move to Switzerland.
His education continued at the American School in London, where Prabowo excelled as captain of the football, debate, and chess teams, and served as the editor-in-chief of the school magazine. Notably, he was the only Indonesian student at the school during his time there.
