Soedjatmoko
Soedjatmoko | |
---|---|
Rector of United Nations University | |
In office 10 April 1980 – 30 March 1987 | |
Preceded by | James M. Hester |
Succeeded by | Heitor Gurgulino de Souza |
Ambassador of Indonesia to the United States | |
In office 5 May 1968 – 31 July 1971 | |
Preceded by | Suwito Kusumowidagdo |
Succeeded by | Syarief Thayeb |
Member of the Constitutional Assembly | |
In office 12 December 1956 – 5 July 1959 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Soedjatmoko Mangoendiningrat 10 January 1922 Sawahlunto, Sumatra's West Coast Residency, Dutch East Indies |
Died | 21 December 1989 Yogyakarta, Indonesia | (aged 67)
Political party | Socialist (1955–1960) |
Spouse |
Ratmini Gandasubrata
(m. 1957) |
Children | 3 |
Relatives | Nugroho Wisnumurti (brother) Sutan Sjahrir (brother-in-law) |
Education | Hogere Burgerschool |
Occupation |
|
Soedjatmoko (born Soedjatmoko Mangoendiningrat; 10 January 1922 – 21 December 1989), more colloquially referred to as Bung Koko,[1] was an Indonesian intellectual, diplomat, and politician. He was born into a noble father and mother in Sawahlunto, West Sumatra. After finishing his primary education, he went to Batavia (modern-day Jakarta) to study medicine; in the city's slums, he saw much poverty, which became an academic interest later in life. After being expelled from medical school by the Japanese in 1943 for his political activities, Soedjatmoko moved to Surakarta and practiced medicine with his father. In 1947, after Indonesia proclaimed its independence, Soedjatmoko and two other youths were deployed to Lake Success, New York, to represent Indonesia at the United Nations (UN). They helped secure international recognition of the country's sovereignty.
After his work at the UN, Soedjatmoko attempted to study at
After Sukarno was replaced by Suharto, Soedjatmoko returned to public service. In 1966 he was sent as one of Indonesia's representatives at the UN, and in 1968 he became Indonesia's ambassador to the US; during this time he received several honorary doctoral degrees. He also advised foreign minister Adam Malik. After returning to Indonesia in 1971, Soedjatmoko held a position in several think tanks. After the Malari incident in January 1974, Soedjatmoko was held for interrogation for two and a half weeks and accused of masterminding the event. Although eventually released, he could not leave Indonesia for two and a half years. In 1978 Soedjatmoko received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding, and in 1980 he was chosen as rector of the United Nations University in Tokyo. Two years after returning from Japan, Soedjatmoko died of cardiac arrest while teaching in Yogyakarta.
Early life
Soedjatmoko was born on 10 January 1922 in
Soedjatmoko later attended a
After his expulsion, Soedjatmoko moved to
Career
Time abroad
In 1947, Sjahrir sent Soedjatmoko to New York as a member of the Indonesian Republic's "observer" delegation to the United Nations (UN).
Return home
Upon returning to Indonesia, Soedjatmoko once again became an editor of Siasat. In 1952, he was one of the founders of the Socialist Party daily Pedoman (Guidance); this was followed by a political journal, Konfrontasi (Confrontation). He also helped to establish the Pembangunan publishing house, which he directed until 1961.
Towards the end of the 1950s, Soedjatmoko and President Sukarno, with whom he had had a warm working relationship, had a falling out over the president's increasingly authoritarian policies. In 1960 Soedjatmoko co-founded and headed the Democratic League, which attempted to promote democracy in the country;[2] he also opposed Sukarno's Guided Democracy policy.[8] When the effort failed, Soedjatmoko went to the US and took a position as a guest lecturer at Cornell University. When he returned to Indonesia in 1962, he discovered that key members of the PSI had been arrested and the party banned; both Siasat and Pedoman were closed. To avoid trouble with the government, Soedjatmoko voluntarily left himself unemployed until 1965, when he became co-editor of An Introduction to Indonesian Historiography.[2]
Ambassadorship
After the failed
In 1972 Soedjatmoko was selected to the board of trustees of the
Encouraging both Asians and outsiders to look more carefully at the village folkways they would modernize, [Sodjatmoko] is fostering awareness of the human dimension essential to all development. [...] [H]is writings have added consequentially to the body of international thinking on what can be done to meet one of the greatest challenges of our time; how to make life more decent and satisfying for the poorest 40 percent in Southeastern and southern Asia.[8]
In response, Soedjatmoko said he felt "humbled, because of [his] awareness that whatever small contribution [he] may have made is dwarfed by the magnitude of the problem of persistent poverty and human suffering in Asia, and by the realization of how much still remains to be done."[11]
Later life and death
In 1980 Soedjatmoko moved to Tokyo, Japan. In September of that year he began service as the rector of the United Nations University, replacing James M. Hester; he remained in that position until 1987. In Japan he published two further books, The Primacy of Freedom in Development and Development and Freedom. He received the Asia Society Award in 1985, and the Universities Field Staff International Award for Distinguished Service to the Advancement of International Understanding the following year.[7][10] Soedjatmoko died of cardiac arrest on 21 December 1989 when he was lecturing at Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta.[10][12]
References
Citations
- ^ a b c "Contemplating Soedjatmoko's Thought about Intellectuals". Gadjah Mada University. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Biography of Soedjatmoko". Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation. Archived from the original on 11 March 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
- ^ "Guru Besar Para Pakar Politik" (in Indonesian). Tokoh Indonesia. 8 January 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
- ^ a b Kahin & Barnett 1990, p. 133
- ^ a b Legge 2010, p. 90
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Kahin & Barnett 1990, p. 134
- ^ a b c d "Dr. Soedjatmoko". United Nations University. Archived from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
- ^ a b c "Citation for Soedjatmoko". Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation. Archived from the original on 3 June 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
- ^ Kahin & Barnett 1990, pp. 134–135
- ^ a b c "Soedjatmoko, 67, Indonesia Diplomat And Social Scientist". The New York Times. 22 December 1989. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
- ^ "Response of Soedjatmoko". Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation. Archived from the original on 11 March 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
- ^ Kahin & Barnett 1990, p. 139
Sources
- Kahin, George McT.; Barnett, Milton L. (April 1990). "In Memoriam: Soedjatmoko, 1922 – 1989". Indonesia. 49. Cornell University's Southeast Asia Program: 133–140.
- Legge, J. D. (2010). Intellectuals and Nationalism in Indonesia: A Study of the Following Recruited by Sutan Sjahrir in Occupied Jakarta. Jakarta: Equinox. ISBN 9786028397230.
Further reading
- Nursam, M. (2002). Pergumulan Seorang Intelektual: Biografi Soedjatmoko [The Struggle of an Intellectual: A Biography of Soedjatmoko] (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Utama. ISBN 979-686-691-9.