Indonesia held its first direct presidential elections, which resulted in the election of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as President of Indonesia after the second round on September 20.

Presidential elections were held in Indonesia on 5 July and 20 September 2004. As no candidate won a majority in the first round, a runoff was held, in which Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono defeated Megawati Sukarnoputri and was elected president. They were the first direct presidential elections in the history of Indonesia; prior to a 2002 amendment to the Constitution of Indonesia, both the president and vice president had been elected by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, commonly referred to as SBY, is an Indonesian politician and retired army general who served as the sixth president of Indonesia from 2004 to 2014 and the second president of Indonesia from the military after Suharto. He founded the Democratic Party of Indonesia and served as its 4th chairman from 2014 until 2020. He also served as the 8th and 10th coordinating minister for political and security affairs from 2000 until 2001 and again from 2001 until 2004. He also served as the president of the Assembly and chair of the Council of the Global Green Growth Institute. He was also the former chairman of ASEAN due to Indonesia hosting of the 18th and 19th ASEAN Summits.

The president of the Republic of Indonesia is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Indonesia. The president is the leader of the executive branch of the Indonesian government and the commander-in-chief of the Indonesian National Armed Forces and the Indonesian National Police. Since 2004, the president and vice president have been directly elected to a five-year term, once renewable, allowing for a maximum of ten years in office.