JAKARTA, June 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Retired army general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is a leading contender in the Indonesian presidential election scheduled for July 5, with various opinion polls placing him ahead of four rivals.

    The popularity of Yudhoyono, better known here by his initials SBY, started to rise when he resigned from the senior political and security minister post after a blazing row with President Megawati Soekarnoputri and her husband.

    In a press conference held on March 11, the day he announced resignation, Yudhoyono said he had been sidelined from the cabinetand rarely invited in cabinet meetings concerning political and security affairs while the political climate was heating ahead of the legislative and presidential elections.

    Local news reports said Yudhoyono was sidelined from the cabinet for his presidential nomination without first asking for Megawati's permit.

    Prior to the conference, first gentleman Taufik Kiemas called Yudhoyono as being "childish" for talking with the media about hisrow with the president.

    Born on Sept. 9, 1949, Yudhoyono is the only child of a retiredarmy lieutenant and spent his youth in the East Java town of Pacitan.

    His bright military career began in 1973, when he was named thebest graduate of the national military academy and President Soeharto himself put the insignia on his uniform.

    He rose through the ranks and became the chief of territorial affairs in 1999, one year after Indonesia saw a major political transition with the downfall of Soeharto.

    He left the army in 2000 to join the Abdurrahman Wahid administration as a minister of mines and energy. In the same year,the Indonesian Military (TNI) gave him the four-star general status as an honorary award.

    Wahid then promoted Yudhoyono as the coordinating minister for political and security affairs. But in 2001, when the president was facing impeachment from the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), Yudhoyono was fired for refusing to declare a state of emergency, which could become a pretext for Wahid to disband the parliament.

    In August 2001, Yudhoyono regained his post after then Vice President Megawati replaced the impeached Wahid.

    He frequently appeared on TV screens and newspaper headlines after the deadly Bali bombing in October 2002. He became the central figure behind the adoption of the country's first anti-terrorism law and the decision to launch offensive to end decades-long rebellion in Aceh province. He started to become a respected public figure.

    The conflict with his second boss only increased public supportfor Yudhoyono, perceived by his supporters as a man with high moral principles who would set aside personal interests if they were against his values.

    Most influential newspaper Kompas on Thursday described the politely speaking general as a man who always keeps his good manners and called him a "charming person."

    The tangible demonstration of mounting public support to Yudhoyono came during the April 5 legislative election, which saw his Democratic Party in its election debut ranked fifth out of 24 participating parties by winning 7.45 percent of popular votes and10 percent of seats in the 550-member House of Representatives (DPR).

    Yudhoyono soon became a serious contender in the presidential election, primarily after he teamed up with former senior ministerfor people's welfare Jusuf Kalla, who once was among presidential hopefuls of the largest party Golkar.

    Yudhoyono has successfully convinced his supporters that despite his military background, he would never have any intentionto build a repressive regime.

    "Since I left the military about five years ago, I have definitely become a civilian who must learn to respect democracy. Militarism of repressive ways are not what I have in my mind," Yudhoyono said in an interview with Kompas published Thursday.

    He is the first candidate to name a running mate when other candidates were observing different political forces before picking a partner.

    He is the only candidate who decisively speaks about anti-terror measures while others are occupied by bread-and-butter issues.

    The latest survey conducted by the International Foundation forElections System (IFES) indicates that, as many other poll results,Yudhoyono was favored by 45 percent of respondents and that supporters of almost all political parties that passed the electoral threshold in the legislative election pledged to vote for him.

    Tailing behind Susilo was Golkar candidate Gen. (ret) Wiranto with 11.4 percent, Megawati came third with 11 percent, ahead of Amien Rais, the supreme legislature head, with 9.8 percent. Current Vice President Hamzah Haz came last with 2 percent. Enditem