I Gusti Ketut Pudja

I Gusti Ketut Pudja
Official portrait, c. 1945
1st Governor of Lesser Sunda
In office 19 August 1945 – 29 January 1946[a]
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Susanto Tirtoprodjo[b]
Personal details
Born	(1908-05-19)19 May 1908 Singaraja, Bali and Lombok Residency, Dutch East Indies
Died	4 May 1977(1977-05-04) (aged 68) Jakarta, Indonesia
Spouse	I Gusti Ayu Made Mirah
Alma mater	Rechts Hoogeschool

I Gusti Ketut Pudja (19 May 1908 – 4 May 1977) was an Indonesian politician and national hero, who served as the first governor of Lesser Sunda from 1945 until 1946.^[c] He was a member of the Investigating Agency for Preparatory Work for Indonesian Independence (BPUPK). He was also present at Admiral Tadashi Maeda's house, during the preparation for the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence on 17 August 1945.^[2] Making him the only Balinese to be present during the proclamation.^[3]

Pudja was born on 19 May 1908 in Singaraja, Bali. He graduated from Rechtshoogeschool in Batavia (now Jakarta),^[4] and he started working in the Bali and Lombok Residency Office in Singaraja, in 1935. A year later, he was placed in the Raad van Kerta, a court in Bali at that time.^[3] Pudja was a member of the Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence (PPKI), formed on 7 August 1945, to continue the work begun by the Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence (BPUPK). Following the proclamation of independence, he was appointed governor of Lesser Sunda by president Sukarno.

He died on 4 May 1977. On 7 November 2011, based on Presidential Decree No. 113/TK/2011, the government honored I Gusti Ketut Pudja as a national hero.^[4] In 2016, Bank Indonesia decided I Gusti Ketut Pudja as one of 12 national heroes whose figures were painted on Indonesia's new currency. The figure of Pudja can be found on the IDR 1,000 denomination.^[5]

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