Eddy Sabara

Eddy Sabara (17 February 1927 – 30 September 1995) was an Indonesian civil servant and military officer. He was the Governor of Southeast Sulawesi for twelve years between 1966 and 1978, and held acting governor positions in four other provinces due to his position in the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Early life Sabara was born in Kendari, then part of Dutch East Indies, on 17 February 1927. His father was a municipal police officer. Sabara was the last of seven siblings, and he began his education in Kendari before moving to Makassar for further education until 1946, where he attended school with future Indonesian nationalist figure Robert Wolter Monginsidi. During his time in Java, he also enrolled in the Magelang Military Academy.

After the revolution, he commanded units within the Hasanuddin Military Region, eventually becoming commander of its Regional Training Regiment by 1965. During his time at Hasanuddin, he participated in the campaign against Andi Aziz's rebellion. He had also commanded a reserve brigade during Operation Trikora in 1962. The previous civilian governor and the first elected governor of the province, La Ode Hadi, was forced to leave his position in 1966 before he had held it for two years following a wave of demonstrations during the transition to the New Order, allowing the popular Sabara (at that time a lieutenant colonel) to take over.

Southeast Sulawesi was very sparsely populated at the start of his tenure, with little to no government budget, and Sabara opted to relocate locals (mostly nomadic farmers) alongside resettlement areas where roads were planned. After the conclusion of his governorship in 1978, he was assigned in 1979 to the Ministry of Home Affairs as inspector general, and later became the director general of the ministry's regional autonomy directorate. Central Sulawesi (25 November 1980 – 1981), and Aceh (15 March – 27 August 1981), During his temporary governorships of Aceh and Central Sulawesi, he had encountered political gridlocks in the provincial legislatures during their attempt to appoint a definitive governor. Due to this track record, he was known by journalists as being the "acting governor specialist" in the early 1980s. He was awarded the Star of Mahaputera, 3rd class (Bintang Mahaputera Utama) on 14 August 1982. In 1984, he was also appointed into the Supreme Advisory Council.

He died on 30 September 1995, due to his heart disease and kidney-related complications. He was buried at the Kalibata Heroes' Cemetery. At the time of his death, he held the rank of major general.