Oerip Soemohardjo

General Raden Oerip Soemohardjo
Portrait of Oerip, c. 1947
Chief of Staff of the Indonesian National Armed Forces
In office 12 November 1945 – November 1948 Acting: 5 October – 12 November 1945
President	Sukarno
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Lt. General Sudirman
Personal details
Born	Moehammad Sidik (1893-02-22)22 February 1893 Purworejo, Dutch East Indies
Died	17 November 1948(1948-11-17) (aged 55) Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Resting place	Semaki Heroes' Cemetery
Spouse	Rohmah Soebroto ​ (m. 1926)​
Military service
Allegiance	Dutch East Indies Indonesia
Branch/service	Dutch East Indies Army Indonesian Army
Years of service	1914–39, 1942, 1945–48
Rank	Lieutenant general (at death) General (posthumous)
Commands	Indonesian Armed Forces (acting commander)
Battles/wars	World War II Indonesian National Revolution Operation Product
Awards	National Hero of Indonesia (posthumous, 1964)

General Raden Oerip Soemohardjo ([urɪp sumɔˈhardʒɔ]; Perfected Spelling: Raden Urip Sumoharjo, 22 February 1893 – 17 November 1948) was an Indonesian general, the first chief of staff of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, and the interim Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. He received several awards from the Indonesian government, including the title National Hero of Indonesia in 1964. He was also a recognized Catholic by the Holy See, by which Pope Paul VI dedicated a memorial chalice for him with a Latin inscription acknowledging his legacy.^[1]

Born in Purworejo, Dutch East Indies, Raden Oerip Soemohardjo exhibited leadership skills from an early age. As his parents wanted him to become a regent, after elementary school Oerip was sent to the School for Native Government Employees in Magelang. His mother died during his second year at the school, and Oerip left to undertake military training in Meester Cornelis, Batavia (modern-day Jatinegara, Jakarta). Upon graduating in 1914, he became a lieutenant in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army; during almost 25 years of service he was stationed on three different islands and promoted several times, eventually becoming the highest-ranking Native officer in the country.

Raden Oerip Soemohardjo resigned from his position in about 1938 after a disagreement with the regent of Purworejo, where he had been stationed. He and his wife Rohmah then moved to a village near Yogyakarta, where they established a large garden and villa. After Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands in May 1940 Oerip was recalled to active duty. When the Empire of Japan occupied the Indies less than two years later, Oerip was arrested and detained in a prisoner-of-war camp for three and a half months. He spent the rest of the occupation at his villa.

On 14 October 1945, several months after Indonesia proclaimed its independence, Oerip was declared the chief of staff and interim leader of the newly formed army. Working to build a united force from the fractured former military groups in the country, Oerip received little oversight owing to irregularities in the chain of command. On 12 November 1945, General Sudirman was selected as leader of the armed forces, while Oerip remained as chief of staff. The two oversaw almost three years of development during the Indonesian National Revolution, until Oerip resigned in early 1948 because of the political leadership's lack of trust in the army. His health deteriorated; he was already suffering from a weak heart, and he died of a heart attack a few months later. He was posthumously promoted to full general.