Sam Ratulangi

Sam Ratulangi was a prominent Indonesian politician and educator who played a key role in the drafting of the preamble to the 1945 constitution. He was born on 5 November 1890 in Tondano, North Sulawesi. He received his early education in Dutch schools and later studied mathematics and physics at the University of Zurich, where he obtained his doctorate in 1919. He was the first Indonesian to earn a doctorate in mathematics. He returned to Indonesia in 1920 and became a teacher and principal at several schools. He also founded the Taman Siswa, a national education movement that aimed to provide modern and democratic education for Indonesians. He was involved in the nationalist movement and joined the Indonesian National Party (PNI) in 1927. He became one of the leaders of the party and advocated for the independence of Indonesia from the Dutch colonial rule. He participated in several negotiations and conferences with the Dutch authorities and other nationalist figures. He was arrested and exiled by the Dutch several times for his political activities. He was part of the committee that drafted the preamble to the 1945 constitution, which contains the Pancasila, the five principles of the Indonesian state. He also served as the first governor of Sulawesi from 1945 to 1949. He was responsible for organizing the administration and defense of the region during the Indonesian National Revolution. He died of tuberculosis in Jakarta on 30 June 1949, at the age of 58. He was buried at the Karet Bivak Cemetery, with thousands of people attending his funeral. He was honored as a national hero of Indonesia in 1961.