Artati Marzuki Sudirdjo

Artati Marzuki Sudirdjo was an Indonesian journalist, writer and teacher, who took part in the Indonesian independence movement against colonial rule by the Netherlands. She was born on 15 June 1921, in Salatiga, Dutch East Indies. She attended the Bandoeng Hogere Burgerschool law school, and then continued her higher education at the Rechtshoogeschool te Batavia and finished it in 1941 with a Candidaate II diploma. During the Indonesian National Revolution, Artati worked at the Indonesian Red Cross Society Bandung Branch. She also worked as an English radio broadcaster at Voice of Free Indonesia and participated in the one-year Ministry of Foreign Affairs diplomatic and consular course. She was appointed as a politics and consular staffer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1947. In 1950, Artati enrolled in the University of Indonesia, majoring in law, but she did not graduate. She moved to New York and worked as a permanent representative of Indonesia to the United Nations for three years. She returned to Jakarta and worked as Head of Social Affairs of the United Nations Directorate until 1958. She then served as Head of Politics of the Embassy of Indonesia in Rome, Italy, and later at the Directorate of International Organization Ministry of Foreign Affairs until 1964. In 1964, Artati was appointed as the Minister of Basic Education and Culture, although she had no educational background. Her appointment aimed to resolve the conflict between two blocs in the education department, the Serikat Sekerja Pendidikan (SSP, Education Workers' Union) and Serikat Sekerja Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan (SSPK, Education and Culture Worker's Union). She held this position until February 1966. In 1966, Artati returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was appointed secretary general. Then, in 1971, she became Inspector general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until 1973. She also served as the Indonesian Ambassador to Switzerland and Austria, and as the Chairperson of the IAEA Board of Governors. She co-founded the Gerwis, an Indonesian women's organization, in 1950, which was later renamed as Gerwani. She left the organization in 1965, after it was accused of being involved in the 1965 coup attempt. She returned to college when she was 41 years old and studied economics at the University of Indonesia. She died at the age of 89, on 19 April 2011, at the Gatot Soebroto Army Hospital in Jakarta, Indonesia, after being hospitalized for two weeks. She had been in failing health and confined to her bedroom for the prior year. She was survived by her two sons and several grandchildren. She was buried at the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery in Jakarta.