Wilopo
Wilopo was an Indonesian statesman and lawyer who served as the prime minister of Indonesia from April 1952 to August 1953. He served in various other positions during his career, including as the speaker of the Constitutional Assembly and the chairman of the Supreme Advisory Council. He also held ministerial offices in several cabinets, including as the minister of labour, the minister of economic affairs, and the List of [ministers of defense (Indonesia)|minister of defense].
Born into a Javanese family, Wilopo attended the Technische Hoogeschool in Bandung, before studying law at the Rechts Hogeschool in Batavia and becoming active in the nationalist movement. During the Japanese occupation, he became an official in the military government. After the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence in 1945, Wilopo helped found the Indonesian National Party and joined the Republican government, becoming secretary-general of the labour ministry and later the junior minister of labour. During the subsequent Indonesian National Revolution, he was arrested by the Dutch following their offensive into Republican territory. Upon his release, Wilopo took part in the Round Table Conference which recognized the sovereignty of a federal Indonesia in 1949. He went on to become minister of labour in the Republic of the [United States of Indonesia Cabinet|federal cabinet] that same year.
Following the dissolution of the federal system, Wilopo served as the minister of economic affairs in the Soekiman Cabinet until the cabinet collapsed over a foreign policy issue. He was then appointed as the formateur of a new cabinet. He opted to form a coalition government consisting of the PNI, the Masyumi Party, and several smaller parties. The resulting Wilopo Cabinet was a "business cabinet" composed of experts. His premiership saw a political realignment—as the Nahdlatul Ulama seceded from the Masyumi while the Indonesian Communist Party started supporting the PNI and President Sukarno—as well as a financial crisis, caused by a collapse in commodity prices following the end of the Korean War. As prime minister, Wilopo pursued a policy of austerity and import restrictions to solve the crisis. This included cuts to the military as part of a broad reorganization of the Indonesian Army. However, the reorganization was unpopular with regional officers, causing conflict between them and the central Army leadership which culminated in the 17 October affair.
The affair greatly weakened the Wilopo Cabinet, though it would lead to a renewed effort at passing an election law. However, before the bill could pass, a land dispute between squatting peasants and foreign-owned plantations in North Sumatra led to a clash that killed several peasants. Outrage over the incident brought about the resignation of the cabinet. After leaving the premiership, Wilopo became a member of the Constitutional Assembly, being elected speaker of the body in 1956. The Constitutional Assembly was unable to pass a new constitution, however, leading to the dissolution of the body—and the return of the 1945 Constitution—by presidential decree in 1959. Afterwards, Wilopo left public office, though he would remain active within the PNI. Following the turmoil of the mid-1960s, he was appointed to the Supreme Advisory Council by President Suharto in 1968, becoming chairman of the council until 1978. He would also serve as head of an anti-corruption commission in 1970. Wilopo died in Jakarta in 1981.
Early life
Childhood
Wilopo was born in Purworejo, on October 21, 1909. He was born to a modest family in Central Java. His father was a man named Soedjono Soerodirjo, but he was raised by his uncle, a man known as Mantri Guru Prawirodiharjo. He wouldn't know of his real father until he reached adulthood. When he was eight years old, he and his family had to move to Loano which is five kilometers from Purworejo. They returned to Purworejo when he was in sixth grade.Education
Wilopo attended the Holland Inlandse School. He could have continued his education at the Europese Hogere School, but he didn't because he wanted to continue his education at the Opleiding School Voor Inlandsche Ambtenaren. After graduating from HIS, Wilopo continued his education at the Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs in Magelang.After studying at MULO, Wilopo continued his education at Algemene Middelbare School, in Yogyakarta. At AMS, Wilopo took part in exact sciences and physics. He received a scholarship to make ends meet during his life in Yogyakarta. During his stay in Yogyakarta, he enjoyed reading newsletters of the De Locomotief, Darmo Kondo, and Soeara Oemoem newspapers. Through this, he found the name of Sukarno. Wilopo also joined the Jong Java youth organization around this time.
He continued his education at the Technische Hoge School in Bandung. There, Wilopo lived in the Prawirosentiko family's house. After some illnesses, he moved to Sukabumi, living in his cousin's house. There, he became a teacher at the Taman Siswa.
He moved to Jakarta and continued his studies at the Rechts Hoge School. During this time, he lived at the house of Abdul Rasyid, a friend of his from MULO.