B.J. Habibie was the third president of Indonesia. He was born in 1936 in South Sulawesi and received his engineering degree in Germany. Habibie worked in Germany on aircraft development and held positions at Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm. In 1974, Suharto requested that Habibie return to Indonesia to help develop the country. He held several leadership positions in state-owned enterprises and was eventually elected vice president in 1998 before becoming president that same year after Suharto resigned. After leaving the presidency, Habibie remained active in advising the government and wrote a book about Indonesia's transition to democracy in 1998.