Sutan Sjahrir

Sutan Sjahrir
Sjahrir in 1950
1st Prime Minister of Indonesia
In office 14 November 1945 – 3 July 1947
President	Sukarno
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Amir Sjarifuddin
2nd Minister of Home Affairs
In office 14 November 1945 – 12 March 1946
President	Sukarno
Preceded by	Wiranatakusumah V
Succeeded by	Sudarsono
2nd Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 14 November 1945 – 3 July 1947
President	Sukarno
Preceded by	Achmad Soebardjo
Succeeded by	Agus Salim
Personal details
Born	(1909-03-05)5 March 1909 Padang Pandjang, Dutch East Indies
Died	9 April 1966(1966-04-09) (aged 57) Zürich, Switzerland
Resting place	Kalibata Heroes Cemetery
Nationality	Indonesian
Political party	Socialist Party of Indonesia (PSI)
Spouse(s)	Maria Duchateau Siti Wahyunah
Relatives	Soedjatmoko (brother-in-law)
Education	University of Amsterdam Leiden University
Profession	Politician
Signature

Sutan Sjahrir^[a] (5 March 1909 – 9 April 1966) was an Indonesian politician, and revolutionary independence leader, who served as the first Prime Minister of Indonesia, from 1945 until 1947. Previously, he was a key Indonesian nationalist organizer in the 1930s and 1940s. Unlike some of his colleagues, he did not support the Japanese during the Japanese occupation and fought in the resistance against them. He was considered to be an idealist and an intellectual.^[1]

Born to a Minangkabau family, he studied at the University of Amsterdam and later became a law student at Leiden University. He became involved in Socialist politics, and Indonesia's struggle for independence, becoming a close associate of the older independence activist Mohammad Hatta, who would later become the first Vice President of Indonesia. During the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, Sjahrir fought in the resistance. Towards independence on 17 August 1945, he was involved in the Rengasdengklok Incident and the Proclamation of Independence. Following the release of his 1945 pamphlet "Our Struggle" ("Perjuangan Kita"), he was appointed Prime Minister of Indonesia by President Sukarno. As Prime Minister, he was one of the few Republican leaders acceptable to the Dutch government, due to his non-cooperative stance during the Japanese occupation. He also played a crucial role in negotiating the Linggadjati Agreement.

Sjahrir founded the Indonesian Socialist Party (PSI) in 1948 to politically oppose the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). Although small, his party was very influential in the early post-independence years. However, Sjahrir's socialist party ultimately failed to win support and was later banned in 1960, after the party was suspected of being involved in the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia rebellion. Sjahrir himself would eventually be arrested and imprisoned without trial in 1962. In 1965, he was released to seek medical treatment and was allowed to go to Zürich, Switzerland. There, he died on 9 April 1966. On the same day, through Presidential Decree No. 76/1966, Sjahrir was inaugurated as a National Hero of Indonesia.^[1]

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