He was born in Pare-Pare (Sulawesi), and studied at the University of Bandung. 1955-1965 he studied aircraft engineering at the RWTH Aachen, Germany, receiving diploma in 1960 and doctorate in 1965. He then worked for Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm in Hamburg.
1978-1998 he was minister of technology and research in the Suharto government of Indonesia, and also became vice president later on. When Suharto was forced to retire by protests in 1998 Habibie became president until the new elected president took office.