Ruslan Abdulgani

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Minister for Information
In office
13 November 1963 – 27 August 1964
Preceded byMohammad Yamin
Succeeded byAchmadi
9th Foreign Minister of Indonesia
In office
24 March 1956 – 9 April 1957
Preceded byIde Anak Agung Gde Agung
Succeeded bySubandrio
1st Rector of the Teacher and Education Science Institute
In office
2 May 1964 – 12 June 1966
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byAchmad Sanusi
Personal details
Born(1914-11-24)24 November 1914
General (titular)[1]
Battles/warsIndonesian National Revolution
Abdulgani (right) in 1956

Ruslan Abdulgani (his first name is also spelled Roeslan; 24 November 1914 — 29 June 2005) was an Indonesian government official and diplomat known for his role as a leader during the Indonesian National Revolution in the late 1940s, and as a key minister and United Nations ambassador in the Sukarno government during the 1950s and 1960s.

Early life

Roeslan was born and raised in

Qur'an. According to a memoir of his childhood, which Roeslan wrote in the 1970s, his mother was also a strong Javanese nationalist, and it was from her that he first learned about Dutch
colonial rule and the possibility of independence.

During the

anti-imperialist
success story.

Politics

Roeslan's most prominent moment as a public servant came in 1955, when he served as secretary-general of the

Minister of Information
.

While being foreign minister, Roeslan was briefly arrested in August 1956 by the

. Part of a power struggle between the Sukarno government and dissatisfied military officers, he was promptly pardoned by vote of Sukarno's cabinet, and the military was forced to release him.

While being a minister in 1964, he was a first rector of Teacher and Education Science Institute or now is Indonesia University of Education. He acted as rector until 1966.

After

Jusuf Habibie and Abdurrahman Wahid
.

In 1998, Dutch

Papua
(Irian Jaya) in the 1960s, by passing confidential information about Indonesian activities. Roeslan vehemently denied the charges, saying that he had seldom even communicated with the Dutch government, even in his official government capacities.

Family

Roeslan's wife Sihwati Nawangwulan, also a prominent activist during Indonesia's independence movement, died in 2001 at the age of 85. Roeslan and Sihwati had five children together. Roeslan died in June 2005 after suffering from stroke and pneumonia. He was one of the last survivors of Indonesia's war for independence.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called him "a leader who never said bad things about others". Suharto called him "a great man and leader who has given so much for the country he loves".

His second daughter, Retnowati Abdulgani-Knapp, wrote a biography about her father, A Fading Dream: The Story of Roeslan Abdulgani and Indonesia, which was published in 2003. In it, she described Roeslan as a lifelong fighter against colonialism and imperialism.

Honours

References

  1. ^ Siregar, M.R. (2000). Menentukan nasib sendiri versus imperialisme. Sumatera Human Rights Watch Network. p. 176.
  2. ^ "Reply to a parliamentary question" (pdf) (in German). p. 27. Retrieved 2 October 2012.

External links

Further reading