Raden Abdulkadir Widjojoatmodjo (18 December 1904 – 24 December 1992) was a military officer, diplomat, and high-ranking official of the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

Early carrier

Abdulkadir was educated at a Dutch school and attended Indological training at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

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 Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

in the

Kingdom of Hejaz The Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz ( ar, المملكة الحجازية الهاشمية, ''Al-Mamlakah al-Ḥijāziyyah Al-Hāshimiyyah'') was a state in the Hejaz region in the Middle East that included the western portion of the Arabian Penins ...

. In 1932 he became deputy consul in

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

and therefore the highest representative of the Netherlands. Just before the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he was a senior official in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

. From March 1944 he was a consultant in the public service of Deputy Governor General

Hubertus van Mook Hubertus Johannes "Huib" van Mook (30 May 1894 – 10 May 1965) was a Dutch administrator in the East Indies. During the Indonesian National Revolution, he served as the Acting Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1942 to 1948.Kahin ...

that the Dutch government from outside the Dutch East Indies tried to restore with the

Netherlands Indies Civil Administration The Netherlands Indies Civil Administration (abbreviated NICA; nl, Nederlandsch-Indische Civiele Administratie) was a semi-military organisation, established April 1944, tasked with the restoration of civil administration and law of Dutch colonia ...

(NICA), from 1946 the Allied Military Administration Civil Affairs Branch (AMACAB) 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 Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. Abdulkadir participated in the restoration of Dutch authority in the East Indies and was appointed a resident (as a colonel in the KNIL) from Maluku.

Indonesian Revolution

COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Portret van kolonel Abdulkadir Widjojoatmodjo en zijn echtgenote TMnr 10018595

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 The Renville Agreement was a United Nations Security Council-brokered political accord between the Netherlands, which was seeking to re-establish its colony in South East Asia, and Indonesian Republicans seeking for Indonesian independence durin ...

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

Formation of the State of Pasundan

Abdulkadir, who served as Recomba (governor) of

West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...

, took the initiative to hold the first conference of the

State of Pasundan The State of Pasundan (Indonesian language, Indonesian and su, Negara Pasundan) was a federated state, federal state ''(negara bagian)'' formed in the western part of the Indonesian island of Java by the Netherlands in 1948 following the Linggad ...

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 Indonesia's independence, there, he was treated like a pariah for collaborating with the Dutch, and emigrated to the Netherlands in 1951. He died in 1992 in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

and was later buried at the family grave site in Karanganyar.

References

{{Reflist 1904 births 1992 deaths People from Salatiga People from Central Java People of the Indonesian National Revolution Royal Netherlands East Indies Army officers