Prof. Mr. Abdoel Gaffar Pringgodigdo (24 August 1904 – 1988) was the

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

of Indonesia from 21 January to 6 September 1950.

Biography

Pringgodigdo was born in

Bojonegoro Bojonegoro Regency ( id, Kabupaten Bojonegoro, older spelling is ''Kabupaten Bodjanegara'', jv, ꦑꦧꦸꦥꦠꦺꦤ꧀ꦨꦗꦤꦼꦒꦫ, translit=Kabupatèn Bojånegårå) is a regency in East Java, Indonesia, about 110 km west of Sur ...

East Java East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean bord ...

, Dutch East Indies on 24 August 1904. He was the older brother of diplomat Abdoel Kareem Pringgodigdo. After two years of elementary school, he studied at a Europeesche Lagere School from 1911 to 1918, then to the Hogere Burger School. After graduating in 1923, he went to

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wi ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, to study at Leiden University, which he graduated in 1927 with a degree in law. He also received a '' cum laude'' degree in ''Indoloogie'', the study of the Dutch East Indies. After returning to Indonesia, Pringgodigdo took a job as a scribe ( nl, sekretaris), later becoming the leader ( id, wedana) of Karang Kobar in the eastern part of

Purbalingga Regency Purbalingga Regency ( Javanese: ꦥꦸꦂꦧꦭꦶꦁꦒ) is an inland regency ( id, kabupaten) in the southwestern part of Central Java province in Indonesia. Purbalingga Regency has an area of 777.64 km2 and population of 848,952 at the 201 ...

. Towards the end of the

Japanese occupation of Indonesia The Empire of Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) during World War II from March 1942 until after the end of the war in September 1945. It was one of the most crucial and important periods in modern Indonesian history. In Ma ...

, Pringgodigdo served on the

Committee for Preparatory Work for Indonesian Independence The Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence ( id, Badan Penyelidik Usaha-usaha Persiapan Kemerdekaan, BPUPK; ja, 独立準備調査会, Hepburn: , Nihon-shiki / Kunrei-shiki: ), sometimes referred to as the Investigating Co ...

as secretary for Radjiman Widyoningrat, chair of the committee. He was also part of the Committee of Five (''Panitia Lima'') responsible for formulating the state philosophy, Pancasila. Once Indonesia became independent, Pringgodigdo served as state secretary under President Sukarno until January 1950; from June to September 1948 he also served as the commissioner for Sumatra. After the Dutch seized Yogyakarta in December 1948, Pringgodigdo was captured and flown to Bangka with other Indonesian leaders; he also reported that large parts of his archives were burned. From 21 January to 6 September 1950, he served as Minister of Justice, representing the

Masyumi Party The Council of Indonesian Muslim Associations ( id, Partai Majelis Syuro Muslimin Indonesia), better known as the Masyumi Party, was a major Islamic political party in Indonesia during the Liberal Democracy Era in Indonesia. It was banned in ...

Indonesian republican leaders in Bangka (1)

After retiring from politics, Pringgodigdo began teaching. He began as a guest lecturer on law at

Gadjah Mada University Gadjah Mada University ( jv, ꦈꦤꦶꦥ꦳ꦼꦂꦱꦶꦠꦱ꧀ꦓꦗꦃꦩꦢ; id, Universitas Gadjah Mada, abbreviated as UGM) is a Public university, public research university located in Sleman Regency, Sleman, Yogyakarta (special region) ...

, later moving to Surabaya and teaching at

Airlangga University Airlangga University ( Indonesian: ''Universitas Airlangga''; jv, ꦈꦤꦶꦮ꦳ꦼꦂꦱꦶꦠꦱ꧀ꦄꦲꦶꦂꦭꦁꦒ, abbreviated as Unair or UA) is the second-oldest university in Indonesia and also a public university located in Su ...

. At Airlangga, he served as the first Dean of Law from 1953 to 1954, later serving as the university's president from November 1954 to September 1961. After a brief period as acting president at

Hasanuddin University Hasanuddin University ( id, Universitas Hasanuddin) which is abbreviated as Unhas, is one of the largest autonomous universities in Indonesia. It is located in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Unhas was established on September 10, 1956, and ...

Ujung Pandang Makassar (, mak, ᨆᨀᨔᨑ, Mangkasara’, ) is the capital of the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, Surabaya, M ...

, he returned to Surabaya and taught at the Surabaya State Teachers College. He later founded the Institute of Legal Theory in Surabaya with Kho Siok Hie and Oey Pek Hong. The institute was merged into Faculty of Law Airlangga University sometime later. In 1971 he became a member of the People's Representative Council.

Personal life

Pringgodigdo was married to Nawang Hindrati Joyo Adiningrat.

References

;Footnotes ;Bibliography * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pringgodigdo, Abdoel Gaffar 1904 births 1988 deaths People from Bojonegoro Regency Leiden University alumni Gadjah Mada University faculty Airlangga University faculty Government ministers of Indonesia