In 1975-76 Indonesian President Suharto ordered the invasion of East Timor and declared it his country’s 27th province. From then on, he refused to alter the territory’s status or allow the East Timorese to do so, for example, in a referendum. On 27 January 1999, less than a year after replacing Suharto as president of Indonesia, B. J. Habibie dramatically altered his predecessor’s course.