Abdulkadir Widjojoatmodjo


Raden Abdulkadir Widjojoatmodjo was a military officer, diplomat, and high-ranking official of the Dutch East Indies.

Early career

Abdulkadir was educated at a Dutch school and attended Indological training at Leiden University under Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje who recommended him to the Homegrown Council. There he worked as an administrator. In 1919 he became secretary of the Dutch embassy in Jeddah in the Kingdom of Hejaz. In 1932 he became deputy consul in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and therefore the highest representative of the Netherlands. Just before the outbreak of World War II he was a senior official in New Guinea.
From March 1944 he was a consultant in the public service of Deputy Governor General Hubertus van Mook that the Dutch government from outside the Dutch East Indies tried to restore with the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration, from 1946 the Allied Military Administration Civil Affairs Branch and after the departure of the British Department of Temporary Administration troops. He was temporarily the highest authority of the Dutch East Indies in Brisbane. Abdulkadir participated in the restoration of Dutch authority in the East Indies and was appointed a resident from Maluku.

Indonesian revolution

Abdulkadir played an active role in the preparations for constitutional changes in 1946 as part of the Secretary of State for public affairs. At the end of 1947, he served as governor-general of the Dutch East Indies and was an envoy of the Dutch delegation during United Nations-led negotiations of the independence of Indonesia.

Renville Agreement

In the Renville Agreement, Abdulkadir was an envoy of the Dutch delegation taking place on 8 December 1947. He signed the agreement, representing the Netherlands.

Formation of the State of Pasundan

Abdulkadir, who served as Recomba of West Java, took the initiative to hold the first conference of the State of Pasundan on 12–19 October 1947. He invited as a participant in the conference the former republican resident in Bogor R.A.A Hilman Djajadiningrat who was appointed as chairman.

Post-war

Abdulkadir continued to live in Indonesia after its independence for 17 years. There, he was treated like a pariah for collaborating with the Dutch. Following his declined health, he emigrated to the Netherlands. He died in 1992 in The Hague and was later buried at the family grave site in Karanganyar.