The octogenarian Suharto, shown at birthday celebrations in June.JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Former Indonesian dictator Haji Muhammad Suharto -- the "smiling general" who ruled his country with an iron fist for three decades -- died Sunday at a hospital in Jakarta, said his doctor. He was 86.
He was rushed to Pertamina Hospital on January 4 for treatment of a failing liver, heart and lungs, his doctors said.
He had been suffering at home for five days.
His death comes just a day after his doctors said he appeared to be making a remarkable recovery.
Suharto, who, like other Indonesians, only has one name, was president of Indonesia from 1967 until he was forced to resign -- under immense political pressure -- in 1998.
He is credited with shaping modern Indonesia by boosting the economy and making the sprawling archipelago a regional power.
However, he also reigned as the nation was beset by internal corruption and, at the end of his rule, economic decline.
"He was known as the smiling general. He could be very charming, but behind that smile was this streak of steel," said Richard Woolcott, Australia's former ambassador to Indonesia.
"In the short term, he'll probably be judged fairly harshly by Australian critics and others in the West, but in the longer term, I suspect historians will see his contributions to Indonesia in a very positive light," Woolcott told CNN
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