He is the son of Dr. Sudarsono, who was Minister of Home Affairs and Minister for Social Affairs in the late 1940s in the Second Sjahrir Cabinet. He served as head of the Department of International Relations and Dean of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Indonesia (1985–1994) and taught at The School of Public and International Affairs, Columbia University, New York City in 1986–87.
In public service, Juwono Sudarsono has served as Vice Governor of The National Defence College (Lemhannas), 1995–1998; Minister of State for the Environment under President Suharto, 1998; Minister of Education and Culture under President B.J. Habibie, 1998–1999; Minister of Defence under President Abdurrahman Wahid (the first civilian to occupy this position in 50 years), 1999–2000; Ambassador to the United Kingdom under President Megawati Sukarnoputri, 2003–2004; and Minister for Defence under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, 2004–2009.