Sjahrir, Sutan, 1909-1966

Sutan Sjahrir (5 March 1909 – 9 April 1966) was an Indonesian statesman and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of Indonesia from 1945 until 1947. He played a key role during the Indonesian National Revolution and was active in the nationalist movement during the 1930s. Sjahrir is remembered as an idealist and intellectual. 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.