President Sukarno of Indonesia and U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon, in Indonesia. 1956. President Sukarno (6 June 1901 - 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, politician, nationalist, and assimilationist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 - April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, Nixon previously served as the 36th vice president from 1953 to 1961, having risen to national prominence as a representative and senator from California. He became the only president to resign from the office, following the Watergate scandal.