Wilopo

In this Indonesian name, there is no family name nor a patronymic.

Wilopo
Official portrait, c. 1950s
7th Prime Minister of Indonesia
In office 3 April 1952 – 30 July 1953
President	Sukarno
Deputy	Prawoto Mangkusasmito
Preceded by	Soekiman Wirjosandjojo
Succeeded by	Ali Sastroamidjojo
Ministerial offices Minister of Foreign Affairs Ad interim In office 3 April – 29 April 1952 President Sukarno Preceded by Achmad Soebardjo Succeeded by Mukarto Notowidigdo Minister of Defense Ad interim In office 2 June – 1 August 1953 President Sukarno Preceded by Hamengkubuwono IX Succeeded by Iwa Kusumasumantri 9th Minister of Economic Affairs In office 16 July 1951 – 3 April 1952 President Sukarno Preceded by Sujono Hadinoto Succeeded by Soemanang 4th Minister of Labor In office 20 December 1949 – 21 January 1950 President Sukarno Preceded by Koesnan Succeeded by Soeroso
Legislative offices Speaker of the Constitutional Assembly In office 20 November 1956 – 5 July 1959 Member of the Constitutional Assembly In office 9 November 1956 – 5 July 1959 Member of the House of Representatives In office 24 March – 1 December 1956
Advisory offices Chairman of the Supreme Advisory Council In office 4 March 1968 – 31 March 1978 Member of the Supreme Advisory Council In office 4 March 1968 – 31 March 1978
Personal details
Born	(1909-08-21)21 August 1909 Purworejo, Kedoe Residency, Dutch East Indies
Died	1 June 1981(1981-06-01) (aged 71) Jakarta, Indonesia
Resting place	Tanah Kusir Cemetery
Political party	PDI
Other political affiliations	Partindo (1932–1936) Gerindo (1937–1942) PNI (1946–1973)
Spouse	Sumikalimah ​ (m. 1937)​
Alma mater	Rechts Hogeschool (Mr.)
Occupation	Politician lawyer

Wilopo (21 October 1909 – 1 June 1981) was an Indonesian politician and lawyer. A capable administrator, he served as prime minister of Indonesia from 1952 to 1953. He also held various other positions during his career, including as Minister of Labor, Minister of Economic Affairs, speaker of the Constitutional Assembly, and chairman of the Supreme Advisory Council.

Born into a Muslim family in Purworejo, Wilopo attended the Rechts Hogeschool in Batavia (now Jakarta), during which time he became involved in educational and nationalist groups. After graduating, he worked as a lawyer and was active in the Indonesian nationalist movement, becoming involved in the Partindo and Gerindo political parties. During the Japanese occupation period (1942–1945), Wilopo became an official in the occupation government and was a figure in both the Putera and Suishintai organizations. Following the proclamation of Indonesian Independence in 1945, Wilopo joined the newly formed Republican government, first as an aide to Jakarta Mayor Suwiryo, and then as a member of the Central Indonesian National Committee. During the Indonesian National Revolution (1945–1949), he joined the Indonesian National Party (PNI) and became Junior Minister of Labor in 1947.

Following the recognition of sovereignty in the Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference, in which he took part, Wilopo was appointed Minister of Labor by Prime Minister Mohammad Hatta in 1949. He also emerged as a leader in the Indonesian National Party (PNI) and became Minister of Economic Affairs in the Soekiman Cabinet. In 1952, following a foreign policy debacle, the Soekiman Cabinet fell and Wilopo was appointed formateur of a new cabinet by President Sukarno. He opted to form a new cabinet consisting of pro-Western technocrats with unity, a common policy orientation, and the support of the PNI and Masyumi Party, even though both parties were unenthusiastic partners.

As prime minister, Wilopo presided over a realignment of political forces as the PNI grew increasingly wary of the Masyumi, the Nahdlatul Ulama split off from the Masyumi, and the Communist Party (PKI) re-entered the political scene. His premiership was also marked by a succession of crises, including an economic crisis and a show of force by the Indonesian Army, which opposed his cabinet's demobilization scheme, culminating in the downfall of his cabinet over a land dispute in North Sumatra. Afterward, Wilopo continued to serve in public office, serving as speaker of the Constitutional Assembly (1956–1959) and chairman of the Supreme Advisory Council (1968–1978). He died in Jakarta in 1981.

Early life and education

Early life

Wilopo was born in Purworejo, on October 21, 1909. He was born to a modest family in Central Java. His father was a man named Soedjono Soerodirjo, but he was raised by his uncle, a man known as Mantri Guru Prawirodiharjo. He wouldn't know of his real father until he reached adulthood. When he was eight years old, he and his family had to move to Loano which is five kilometers from Purworejo. They returned to Purworejo when he was in sixth grade.

Education

Wilopo attended the Holland Inlandse School (HIS). He could have continued his education at the Europese Hogere School (ELS), but he didn't because he wanted to continue his education at the Opleiding School Voor Inlandsche Ambtenaren (OSVIA). After graduating from HIS, Wilopo continued his education at the Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs (MULO) in Magelang.

After studying at MULO, Wilopo continued his education at Algemene Middelbare School (AMS), in Yogyakarta. At AMS, Wilopo took part in exact sciences and physics. He received a scholarship to make ends meet during his life in Yogyakarta. During his stay in Yogyakarta, he enjoyed reading newsletters of the De Locomotief, Darmo Kondo, and Soeara Oemoem newspapers. Through this, he found the name of Sukarno (future President of Indonesia). Wilopo also joined the Jong Java youth organization around this time.

He continued his education at the Technische Hoge School (THS) in Bandung. There, Wilopo lived in the Prawirosentiko family's house. After some illnesses, he moved to Sukabumi, living in his cousin's house. There, he became a teacher at the Taman Siswa.

He moved to Jakarta and continued his studies at the Rechts Hoge School (RHS). During this time, he lived at the house of Abdul Rasyid, a friend of his from MULO.

Political career

Minister of labour

Wilopo's first government position was as the junior minister of labour during the First and Second Amir Sjarifuddin Cabinets from 3 July 1947 to 29 January 1948. After a brief hiatus, he became the minister of labour during the Republic of the United States of Indonesia Cabinet from 20 December 1949 to 6 September 1950. He later became the minister of trade and industry during the Sukiman Cabinet.

Prime minister of Indonesia

After completing his tenure as Minister of Trade and Industry, on 19 March 1952, Wilopo was told to choose a cabinet to lead. Three days after giving his list to President Sukarno, on 1 April he and his cabinet took power; it was essentially a coalition of necessity between the Masyumi and National parties. During his time as prime minister, he also spent 26 days as Foreign Minister, from 3 to 29 April, making him the shortest-serving Indonesian foreign minister as of 2011. As prime minister, he was initially able to draw support from the army by unhesitatingly accepting the Sultan of Yogyakarta Hamengkubuwono IX as defense minister. After fourteen months, the cabinet collapsed; the collapse was blamed on land issues.

Post-prime ministership

From 1955 to 1959, Wilopo served as the Speaker of the Constitutional Assembly of Indonesia. He later became head of the Commission of Four, a part of the Corruption Eradication Team, with his service beginning in June 1970. Despite finding "corruption everywhere", no actions were taken by the government.

Death and legacy

Wilopo died in Jakarta in 1981. Herbert Feith, an Australian scholar on Indonesian politics, notes that Wilopo was widely considered fair-minded and sympathetic to the plight of the working classes, working carefully towards his goals. As he did not prioritize party loyalty, he was known as being able to cooperate with anyone.

Personal life

During his time in Jakarta, he met Sumikalimah, the younger sister of Abdul Rasyid's mother. Sumikalimah is a teacher at an elementary school. Wilopo began a relationship with Sumikalimah until they got married in October 1917.

References

Sources

• Bahari, Adib (2011). Pendekar Hukum Indonesia [Indonesian Legal Giants] (in Indonesian). Yogyakarta: Pustaka Yustisis. ISBN 978-979-3411-04-0.
• Embree, Ainslie Thomas, ed. (1988). "Wilopo (1909–1981)". Encyclopedia of Asian History. Vol. 4. Asia Society. p. 218. ISBN 978-0-684-18901-7.
• Feith, Herbert (1958). The Wilopo Cabinet, 1952–1953: A Turning Point in Post-Revolutionary Indonesia. Ithaca: Cornell University. OCLC 3943883.
• "Land Issue Ousts Indonesia Cabinet; Wilopo, Facing Defeat on His Program by Red-Backed Coalition, Resigns". The New York Times. 3 June 1953. p. 4. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
• "Meninggal dunia jujur dan berkepribadian". Tempo. 31 January 1981. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
• Ricklefs, Merle Calvin (2001). A History of Modern Indonesia since c. 1200 (3rd ed.). Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-4479-9.
• "Wilopo" (in Indonesian). Presidential Library of Indonesia. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
• Wilopo (1979). Wilopo 70 tahun. Gunung Agung.
• Nasr, Ridho. "Kabinet natsir". Academia.edu.
• McVey, Ruth (1971). "The Post-Revolutionary Transformation of the Indonesian Army". Indonesia. 11 (11): 131–176. doi:10.2307/3350748. hdl:1813/53507. ISSN 0019-7289. JSTOR 3350748.