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 Indonesian President from the military after Suharto. He founded the Democratic Party of Indonesia, he served as the 4th leader of the Democratic Party from 2014 until 2020, 8th and 10th Coordinating Minister of Politics and Security Affairs of Indonesia 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's hosting of the 18th and 19th ASEAN Summits.