Her eldest brother, Sahari, graduated from junior college when he was in sophomore year and continued his education at Bandung Institute of Technology.

[citation needed] In 1978, Suharto appointed the 42-year-old B. J. Habibie to be his Minister of Research and Technology in his third cabinet.

As the wife of a member of the cabinet, Ainun joined the Dharma Wanita organization under the leadership of First Lady Siti Hartinah.

On 26 April 1978, First Lady Tien Soeharto, Second Lady Nelly Adam Malik, and Mrs Soehartati Oemar Senoadji founded Yayasan Karya Bhakti RIA Pembangunan or simply as YKBRP, which Ainun chaired from 1998 until her death.

Suharto was on a state visit to Cairo when demonstrators stormed the House of Representatives' office buildings.

In 1999, the parliament declined to accept Habibie's presidential responsibility speech and elected Abdurrahman Wahid as the next president.

In January 2010, Ainun was admitted to the Ludwig Maximilians-Universität Hospital in Munich, Germany for intensive care for her ovarian cancer.

Her body was sent back to Jakarta and buried in the Kalibata National Heroes' Cemetery on 25 May in a military funeral ceremony conducted by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.