Achmad Soebardjo

Achmad Soebardjo was a prominent figure in the struggle for Indonesian independence, as well as a diplomat and a national hero. He was born in Teluk Jambe, Karawang, West Java, on 23 March 1896, to an Acehnese father and a Javanese-Bugis mother. He studied at Hogere Burgerschool Jakarta and later at Leiden University, Netherlands, where he obtained a degree in law in 1933. As a student, he was active in the nationalist movement through Jong Java and Perhimpoenan Indonesia. He also represented Indonesia at the conferences of the League against Imperialism in Brussels and Germany in 1927, where he met other Asian and African leaders such as Jawaharlal Nehru. He returned to Indonesia and became a member of the Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence (BPUPK) and the Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence (PPKI). He was one of the witnesses of the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence on 17 August 1945, and was appointed as the first Foreign Minister of Indonesia by Sukarno. He served as Foreign Minister again from 1951 to 1952 in Sukiman's Cabinet. He also became the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Switzerland from 1957 to 1961. He was involved in several political events, such as the July 3, 1946 Incident, the Renville Agreement, and the Linggadjati Agreement. He was also one of the drafters of the preamble to the 1945 constitution, which contains the Pancasila as the state ideology. He was known as a poet and a historian, who wrote several poems and historical books, such as Indonesia Merdeka, Sejarah Perjuangan Bangsa Indonesia, and Sejarah Kebudayaan Indonesia. He died of a heart attack on 15 December 1978, at the age of 82, and was buried at Karet Bivak Cemetery, Jakarta. He was declared a national hero of Indonesia in 2009.