Lolo Soetoro was an Indonesian geologist who is best known as the stepfather of Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States. He was a colonel in the Indonesian army and later worked in government relations at Union Oil Company. Two decades after his death, he made news headlines after Obama decided to run for presidency. Obama had previously mentioned in his memoir, Dreams from My Father, how much of an influence Soetoro had been in his early life. Soetoro described his stepfather as well-mannered, even-tempered, and easy with people, who not only played tennis and chess with him, but also taught him boxing to protect himself from the “dangerous world”.
Birth Name
Lolo Soetoro
Nickname
Lolo Soetoro Mangunharjo, Mangundikardjo
Profession
Geologist, Geographer
Nationality
Indonesian
Personal Life
Birthday / Date of Birth
Lolo Soetoro was born on the 2nd of January 1935, in Bandung, Dutch East Indies.
Died
He was died on the 2nd of March 1987 (aged 52), in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Sun Sign
Capricorn
Ethnicity
Multiracial
He has Indonesian ancestry.
Religion
Unknown
Education
Soetoro earned his bachelor’s degree in geography from Gadjah Mada University, in Yogyakarta. In 1962, Soetoro, then a civilian employee of the Indonesian Army Topographic Service, obtained an East–West Center grant for graduate study in geography at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He arrived in Honolulu in September 1962 and In June 1964, graduated from the university with a M.A. in geography.
Family Details
- Father – Soewarno Martodihardjo (Employee of a mining office from Yogyakarta)
- Mother – Unknown
- Siblings – Unknown
Marital Status
Married
Girlfriend / Spouse
Lolo Soetoro has dated –
- Ann Dunham (1965-1980) – In 1965, Lolo married Ann Dunham. She was a single mother to Barack Obama. The couple had another child Maya Soetoro-Ng. In 1980, they separated.
- Erna Kustina (1980-Until his death) – In 1980, Soetoro married Erna Kustina and had two children, son Yusuf Aji Soetoro, and daughter Rahayu Nurmaida Soetoro.
Physical Statistics
Height
- In feet – 5 feet 7 inches
- In centimeters – 170 cm
- In meters – 1.70 m
Weight
- In Kilograms – 70 kg
- In Pounds – 154 lbs
Body Build
Slim
Eye Color
Dark Brown
Hair Color
Dark Brown (Natural)
Shoe Size
He wears a size 9.5 (US) shoe.
Sexuality
Straight
Professional Statistics
Famous For
Lolo became known was the stepfather of Barack Obama. He has served as a team member in the Indonesian Army. He was a fine geologist who was highly educated as well as had the potential to work hard. After Barack Obama’s mother and Lolo’s marriage, he successfully fulfilled all the father’s duties.
Lolo Soetoro Net worth
Lolo Soetoro has an estimated net worth of $350K dollars as of 2023.
Some Lesser Known Facts About Lolo Soetoro
- Soetoro was born in Bandung, West Java, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), the ninth of 10 children of Soewarno Martodihardjo, an employee of a mining office from Yogyakarta.
- In 1965, Lolo started his career as a geologist under Indonesian Army Topographic Service. After returning to Indonesia he served as a colonel in the Indonesian armed forces, working for General Suharto, the second President of Indonesia.
- Following his marriage to Dunham, he became the stepfather of a three-year-old Barack Obama.
- In 1970, Soetoro worked at Dinas Topografi, a mapmaking survey company that was contracted with the Indonesian army. After that, he got a new job in government relations at Union Oil Company, which improved his financial situation.
- After Lolo took up job at Union Oil Company, the family moved to the Matraman Dalam neighborhood in the Pegangsaan administrative village of the Menteng subdistrict in Central Jakarta. He also replaced his Japanese motorcycle with a car during this time.
- In 1995, memoir Dreams from My Father, Obama described Soetoro as well-mannered, even-tempered, and easy with people; he wrote of the struggles he felt Soetoro had to deal with after his return to Indonesia from Hawaii.
- He described his stepfather as following a brand of Islam that could make room for the remnants of more ancient, classical, and Dharmic philosophies such as that of the Hindu.
- On March 2, 1987, Soetoro died of liver ailmentat the age of 52, and was buried in Tanah Kusir Cemetery, South Jakarta.
