General of the Army Abdul Haris Nasution (
Old Spelling: Abdoel Haris Nasution; 3 December 1918 – 6 September 2000), was a high-ranking Indonesian general and
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
. He served in the military during the
Indonesian National Revolution and he remained in the military during subsequent turmoil of the
Parliamentary democracy
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
and
Guided Democracy
Guided democracy, also called managed democracy, is a formally democratic government that functions as a ''de facto'' authoritarian government or in some cases, as an autocratic government. Such hybrid regimes are legitimized by elections th ...
. Following the
fall of President Sukarno from power, he became the
Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** I ...
of the
People's Consultative Assembly under president
Suharto. Born into a
Batak Muslim family, in the village of Hutapungkut,
Dutch East Indies, he studied teaching and enrolled at a military academy in
Bandung.
He became a member of the
Royal Netherlands East Indies Army
The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army ( nl, Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger; KNIL, ) was the military force maintained by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in its colony of the Dutch East Indies, in areas that are now part of Indonesia. Th ...
, but following the
Japanese invasion, he joined the
Defenders of the Homeland
''Pembela Tanah Air'' (abbreviated PETA; ) or was an Indonesian volunteer army established on 3 October 1943 in Indonesia by the occupying Japanese. The Japanese intended PETA to assist their forces in opposing a possible invasion by the Allies ...
. Following the
proclamation of independence, he enlisted in the fledgling
Indonesian armed forces
, founded = as the ('People's Security Forces')
, current_form =
, disbanded =
, branches =
, headquarters = Cilangkap, Jakarta
, website =
, commander-in-chief = Joko Widodo
, ...
, and fought during the
Indonesian National Revolution. In 1946, he was appointed commander of the
Siliwangi Division
Military Regional Command III/Siliwangi ( id, Komando Daerah Militer III/Siliwangi or Kodam III/Siliwangi) is an Indonesian Army Regional Military Command that covers Banten and West Java province.
The division was formed during the Indonesia ...
, the guerrilla unit operating in
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 ...
. After the end of the national revolution, he was appointed Chief of Staff of the army, until he was suspended for his involvement in the
17 October affair
The 17 October affair was an event during which Indonesian soldiers pressured the president to disband the Provisional People's Representative Council, at the behest of the administration's chief of staff, along with the commander of the armed for ...
. He was reappointed to the position in 1955.
In 1965, an
attempted coup occurred, later officially blamed on the
Communist Party of Indonesia. Nasution's house was attacked, and his daughter killed, but he managed to escape by scaling a wall and hiding in the Iraqi ambassador's residence. In the following
political turmoil, he assisted in the rise of President
Suharto, and was appointed
Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** I ...
of the
People's Consultative Assembly. He had a falling out with Suharto, who saw him as a rival, and he was pushed out of power in 1971. Once he was removed from positions of power, Nasution developed into a political opponent of Suharto's
New Order Regime. Though he and Suharto began to reconcile in the 1990's. He died on 5 September 2000 in
Jakarta, after suffering a
stroke and going into a coma. His body was interred at
Kalibata Heroes Cemetery
The National Main Heroes Cemetery in Kalibata ( id, Taman Makam Pahlawan Nasional Utama, Kalibata, colloquially known as Kalibata Heroes Cemetery ( id, Taman Makam Pahlawan Kalibata, or ''TMP Kalibata'') is a military cemetery in Kalibata, South ...
.
Early life
Nasution was born on 3 December 1918 in the village of Hutapungkut,
Mandailing Natal Regency
Mandailing Natal, abbreviated as Madina, is a regency in North Sumatra Province of Indonesia. It covers an area of 6,620.70 square kilometres and it had a population of 403,894 people at the 2010 census and 472,886 at the 2020 Census. The capital ...
,
North Sumatra,
into a
Batak Muslim family.
He was the second child of his parents and the oldest son. His father was a trader who sold textiles, rubber and coffee, and was a member of the
Sarekat Islam
Sarekat Islam or Syarikat Islam ( 'Islamic Association' or 'Islamic Union'; SI) was an Indonesian socio-political organization founded at the beginning of the 20th Century during the Dutch colonial era. Initially, SI served as a cooperative of ...
organisation. His father, who was very religious, wanted his son to study at a religious school, while his mother wanted him to study medicine in
Batavia
Batavia may refer to:
Historical places
* Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands
* Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...
. However, after graduating from school in 1932, Nasution received a scholarship to study teaching at
Bukitinggi
Bukittinggi ( min, Bukiktinggi, Jawi: , formerly nl, Fort de Kock) is the third largest city in West Sumatra, Indonesia, with a population of 111,312 in 2010 and 121,028 in 2020, and an area of 25.24 km2. It is in the Minangkabau Highlands ...
. In 1935 Nasution moved to
Bandung to continue his studies, where he remained for three years. His desire to be a teacher gradually faded as his interest in politics grew. He secretly bought books written by the Indonesian nationalist
Sukarno and read them with his friends. Following his graduation in 1937, Nasution returned to Sumatra and taught in
Bengkulu
Bengkulu is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southwest coast of Sumatra. It was formed on 18 November 1968 by separating out the former Bencoolen Residency area from the province of South Sumatra under Law No. 9 of 1967 and was fi ...
, living near the house where Sukarno lived in exile. He occasionally spoke with
Sukarno, and heard him give speeches. A year later Nasution moved to
Tanjungraja, near
Palembang, where he continued to teach, but became more and more interested in politics and the military.
In 1940,
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
occupied the Netherlands and the Dutch colonial authorities established an officer reserve corps which admitted pribumi (native Indonesians). Nasution applied to join, as this was the only way to obtain military training. Along with a few other Indonesians, he was sent to the Bandung Military Academy for training. In September 1940 he was promoted to corporal, then three months later to sergeant. He subsequently became an officer in the
Royal Netherlands East Indies Army
The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army ( nl, Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger; KNIL, ) was the military force maintained by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in its colony of the Dutch East Indies, in areas that are now part of Indonesia. Th ...
(KNIL).
In 1942 the Japanese
invaded and occupied Indonesia. At the time, Nasution was in
Surabaya, having been posted there to defend the port. Nasution then found his way back to Bandung and went into hiding, as he was afraid of being arrested by the Japanese. However, he later assisted the Japanese backed
PETA militias by carrying messages, but did not actually become a member.
Indonesian National Revolution
Siliwangi Division
After
Sukarno declared
Indonesia's independence on 17 August 1945, Nasution joined the fledgling
Indonesian Army, then known as the People's Security Army (TKR), which was fighting the
Indonesian National Revolution against the Dutch.
In May 1946, he was appointed Regional Commander of the
Siliwangi Division
Military Regional Command III/Siliwangi ( id, Komando Daerah Militer III/Siliwangi or Kodam III/Siliwangi) is an Indonesian Army Regional Military Command that covers Banten and West Java province.
The division was formed during the Indonesia ...
, which looked after the security of West Java.
In this position, Nasution developed the theory of territorial warfare which would become the future defence doctrine of the Indonesian Army.
In January 1948, the Indonesian Government and the Dutch Government signed 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 ...
, dividing Java between areas under Dutch and Indonesian control. Because the territories occupied by the Dutch included West Java, Nasution was forced to lead the Siliwangi Division across to Central Java and into Indonesian controlled territory.
Deputy commander
![AH Nasution as the Deputy Commander of the Indonesian Armed Forces](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/AH_Nasution_as_the_Deputy_Commander_of_the_Indonesian_Armed_Forces.jpg)
1948 would also see Nasution rise to the position of Deputy TNI Commander. Despite being only a
Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
, this appointment made Nasution the most powerful person in the TNI, second only to the popular General
Sudirman
General of the Army Raden Sudirman ( Old Spelling: Soedirman; 24 January 1916 – 29 January 1950) was a high-ranking Indonesian military officer during the Indonesian National Revolution. The first commander of the Indonesian National Ar ...
. Nasution immediately went to work in his new role. In April, he assisted Sudirman in reorganising the structure of the troops. In June, at a commanders' meeting, his suggestion that TNI should fight
guerrilla warfare against the Dutch was approved. Although not the Commander of the TNI, Nasution gained experience in the role of Armed Forces Commander in September 1948 with the
Madiun incident. Following the take over of the city of
Madiun in East Java, by former Prime Minister
Amir Syarifuddin and
Musso
Munawar Musso (1897, in Kediri, East Java – Madiun, on 31 October 1948) was a leader of the Communist Party of Indonesia and one of the key figures in the 1948 Madiun affair.
Biography
Early life
Musso was born Munawar Musso in 1897, Pagu, ...
of the
Indonesian Communist Party
The Communist Party of Indonesia ( Indonesian: ''Partai Komunis Indonesia'', PKI) was a communist party in Indonesia during the mid-20th century. It was the largest non-ruling communist party in the world before its violent disbandment in 1965 ...
(PKI). When the news reached the TNI Headquarters in
Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta (; jv, ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ ; pey, Jogjakarta) is the capital city of Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, ...
, a meeting was held between senior military officers.
Sudirman was anxious to avoid violence and wanted negotiations to be conducted. Sudirman then commissioned
Lieutenant Colonel Suharto, to negotiate a deal with the communists. After taking his trip, Suharto returned to Nasution and Sudirman and reported that everything seemed to be peaceful. Nasution did not trust this report and with Sudirman down with an illness, Nasution was left in charge. Nasution then decided on a crackdown, sending troops to go after the communists to put down and end the rebellion. On 30 September Madiun was taken over by republican troops of the
Siliwangi Division
Military Regional Command III/Siliwangi ( id, Komando Daerah Militer III/Siliwangi or Kodam III/Siliwangi) is an Indonesian Army Regional Military Command that covers Banten and West Java province.
The division was formed during the Indonesia ...
. Thousands of communist party members were killed and 36,000 were imprisoned. Amongst the executed were several leaders including Musso, who was killed on 31 October, allegedly while trying to escape from prison. Other PKI leaders such as
D.N. Aidit went into exile in China.
On 19 December 1948, the Dutch launched a successful attack on Yogyakarta and occupied it. Nasution, together with the TNI and the other commanders, retreated into the countryside to fight a guerrilla war. With President Sukarno and Vice-President
Mohammad Hatta
Mohammad Hatta (; 12 August 1902 – 14 March 1980) was an Indonesian statesman and nationalist who served as the country's first vice president. Known as "The Proclamator", he and a number of Indonesians, including the first president of Indone ...
in Dutch captivity, the
Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia
The Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Pemerintahan Darurat Republik Indonesia, PDRI) was established by Indonesian Republicans after the Netherlands occupied the at the time capital city of Yogyakarta in Central Java, the ...
(PDRI) was set up in Sumatra. In this interim government, Nasution was given the position of the Army and Territorial Commander of Java. Following Dutch recognition of Indonesia's independence, the PDRI returned its powers to Sukarno and Hatta, and Nasution returned to his position as Deputy Commander to Sudirman.
Parliamentary democracy era
First term as chief of staff
![FundamentalsGuerrilaWarfare](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/FundamentalsGuerrilaWarfare.jpg)
In December 1949, Nasution took on his position as army chief of staff,
with
TB Simatupang
Tahi Bonar Simatupang (28 January 1920 – 1 January 1990) was a soldier who served in the Indonesian National Revolution and went on to become chief of staff of the Indonesian Armed Forces.
Early life
Simatupang was born in Dairi, North S ...
replacing Sudirman as the commander of the newly dubbed
TNI (Armed Forces of the Republic of Indonesia). In 1952, Nasution and Simatupang decided to adopt a policy of restructuring and reorganisation for TNI. Under this arrangement, Nasution and Simatupang hoped to create a smaller army but one that was more modern and professional.
It did not take long however, before factional interests came into play. Nasution and Simatupang, who had both been trained by the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
colonial government wanted to discharge the soldiers trained by the Japanese and integrate more soldiers trained by the Dutch. The Japanese-trained troops, led by Bambang Supeno, began speaking out against this policy. In adopting their policy, Nasution and Simatupang had the backing of Prime Minister
Wilopo
Wilopo ( ; 21 October 1909 – 1 June 1981) was an Indonesian politician and lawyer of the Indonesian National Party (PNI), who served as the seventh prime minister of Indonesia from his appointment in April 1952 until his resignation in June 1 ...
and Defense Minister
Hamengkubuwono IX
Hamengkubuwono IX or HB IX (12 April 1912 – 2 October 1988) was an Indonesian statesman and royal who was the second vice president of Indonesia, the ninth sultan of Yogyakarta, and the first governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta. Hamen ...
. However, Supeno managed to find support from among the opposition parties in the
People's Representative Council (DPR). The DPR members then began making their disagreements on the restructuring of TNI known. Nasution and Simatupang were not happy to see what they perceived to be interference of military affairs by civilians. On 17 October 1952, Nasution and Simatupang mobilised their troops in a
show of force
A show of force is a military operation intended to warn (such as a warning shot) or to intimidate an opponent by showcasing a capability or will to act if one is provoked. Shows of force may also be executed by police forces and other armed, non ...
. Protesting against civilian interference in military affairs, Nasution and Simatupang had their troops surround the
Presidential Palace and point their tank turrets at it. Their demand to Sukarno was that the current DPR to be dismissed.
For this cause, Nasution and Simatupang also mobilised civilian protesters. Sukarno came out of the Presidential Palace and convinced both soldiers and civilians to go home. Nasution and Simatupang had been defeated.
Nasution and Simatupang were then questioned by
Attorney General Suprapto. In December 1952, they both lost their positions in ABRI and were suspended from the service.
During the time in which he was not the army chief of staff, Nasution wrote a book called the ''Fundamentals of Guerrilla Warfare''. This book was based on Nasution's own experiences fighting and organising guerrilla warfare during the Indonesian War of Independence. Originally released in 1953, it would become one of the most studied books on guerrilla warfare along with
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
's works on the same subject matter.
Second term as chief of staff
On 27 October 1955, after three years of exile, Nasution was re-appointed to his old position as Army Chief of Staff. He immediately began working on the army and its structure by adopting a threefold approach. His first approach was to formulate a
tour of duty
For military personnel, a tour of duty is usually a period of time spent in combat or in a hostile environment. In an army, for instance, soldiers on active duty serve 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the length of their service commitment. ...
system, so that officers could be stationed all around the country and gain experience. This approach would also result in army officers being more professional, instead of feeling personal attachment and loyalty to the province and region from which they came. Nasution's second approach was to centralise military training. All methods of training troops would now be uniform, instead of regional commanders setting up their own method of training troops. Nasution's third and most important approach was to increase the army's influence and power so that it was able to take care of itself, instead of relying on civilian decisions. Nasution did not have a problem applying the first two approaches, but he would have to wait to apply the third approach. By 1957, President Sukarno had begun to introduce the concept of
Guided Democracy
Guided democracy, also called managed democracy, is a formally democratic government that functions as a ''de facto'' authoritarian government or in some cases, as an autocratic government. Such hybrid regimes are legitimized by elections th ...
to his rhetoric in response to his disenchantment with the
Parliamentary Democracy
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
approach which Indonesia had adopted since November 1945. In this, he found a common bond with Nasution and the army, who had not forgotten the way in which civilians interfered with army affairs in 1952.
On 14 March 1957, after receiving the resignation of Prime Minister
Ali Sastroamidjojo
Ali Sastroamidjojo ( EYD: Ali Sastroamijoyo; 21 May 1903 – 13 March 1975) was an Indonesian politician and diplomat who served as prime minister of Indonesia from 1953 until 1955 and again from 1956 until 1957. He also served as the Indo ...
and his Cabinet, Sukarno declared a
State of Emergency. This move not only ended Sukarno's merely ceremonial presidential role, but also increased the army's influence and power as Nasution had wished for. Under this arrangement, regional commanders were able to interfere in civilian matters such as the economy and administrative matters. At the behest of Sukarno himself, the army also began participating in politics, filling in positions which ranged from cabinet ministers to provincial governors and even DPR members. In December 1957, Nasution further increased the army's role by ordering officers to take over the recently nationalised Dutch companies. Aside from increasing the army's role, this move was also designed to stop the influence of the increasingly powerful PKI. In 1958, Nasution made a famous speech that would become the basis for the ''
Dwifungsi
''Dwifungsi'' ("dual function") was a doctrine implemented by Suharto's military-dominated New Order government in Indonesia following the removal of President Sukarno. ''Dwifungsi'' was used to justify the ABRI—especially the Indonesian Army ...
'' Doctrine which the Suharto regime would adopt. Speaking at Magelang in
Central Java, Nasution declared that ABRI should adopt a "middle way in its approach to the nation. According to Nasution, ABRI should not be under the control of civilians. At the same time, ABRI should not dominate the nation in such a way that it became a
military dictatorship.
![1959 Decree](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/1959_Decree.jpg)
In late 1956, there were demands by regional commanders in Sumatra for more autonomy in the provinces. When these demands were not met by the central government, the troops began to rebel, and by early 1957, had forcefully taken over the governance of Sumatra. Then, on 15 February 1958, Lieutenant Colonel
Ahmad Husein declared the establishment of the
Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia
The Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Pemerintah Revolusioner Republik Indonesia
(PRRI)) was a revolutionary government set up in Sumatra to oppose the central government of Indonesia in 1958.
Although frequently refer ...
(PRRI). This prompted the central government to deploy troops. As army chief of staff, Nasution would normally have been involved in mobilising the troops to Sumatra. However, it would be his second deputy, Colonel
Ahmad Yani
General Ahmad Yani (19 June 1922 – 1 October 1965) was the Commander of the Indonesian Army, and was killed by members of the 30 September Movement during an attempt to kidnap him from his house.
Early life
Ahmad Yani was born in Jena ...
who would make his name by successfully putting down the rebellions. On 5 July 1959, Sukarno issued a
decree
A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used ...
declaring that Indonesia would now revert to the original
1945 Constitution. Parliamentary democracy system would be ended and Sukarno was now the
Head of Government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...
in addition to being the
Head of State
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
. Nasution was appointed minister of defence and security in Sukarno's Cabinet, while continuing to hold the position as army chief of staff.
Guided Democracy era
Corruption in the army
Since 1956, Nasution had been trying to stamp out
corruption in the army, but the return to the 1945 Constitution seemed to have renewed his resolve in this matter. He believed that the army should set an example for the rest of society. Not long after Sukarno's decree, Nasution sent
Brigadier General
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
Sungkono to investigate the financial dealings of
Military Area Command IV/Diponegoro (Kodam) and its commander, Colonel
Suharto. Sungkono's findings revealed that during his time as regional commander, Suharto had set up foundations to help local people. However, these foundations were funded through compulsory levies (instead of voluntary donations) on production and service industries.
Suharto was also involved in illegal bartering. He had been bartering sugar for rice with
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
. Nasution wanted to take action against Suharto and actually considered expelling him from the army. However, Deputy Army Chief of Staff
Gatot Soebroto intervened. Gatot had taken Suharto under his wing when he was Commander of Kodam IV/Diponegoro and had noticed Suharto's talents. Gatot asked Nasution not to expel Suharto because Suharto's talent could be further developed. Nasution listened to Gatot's advice. His decision was to remove Suharto from his position and to punish him by sending him to the Army
Staff College
Staff colleges (also command and staff colleges and War colleges) train military officers in the administrative, military staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career. For e ...
(Seskoad).
West Irian
During the struggle for independence, Sukarno had always perceived Indonesia as also including
West Papua. When the Dutch finally recognised Indonesia's independence, West Papua continued to be a Dutch colony. Sukarno did not give up and continued to push for it to be included as part of Indonesia through the United Nations and through the
Bandung Conference, where the attending nations promised to support Indonesia's claim. The Dutch remained adamant and by 1960, Sukarno had run out of patience. In July, he met with his top advisors, including Nasution, and it was agreed that Indonesia would
pursue a policy of confrontation against the Dutch on the matter of West Papua. As part of the preparation for this campaign, Nasution turned to Suharto, who had finished his Seskoad course in November 1960.
Suharto, now a brigadier general, was commissioned by Nasution to create a strategic force unit which would be on standby, ready to be called into action at any time. Suharto was placed in charge of this taskforce and in March 1961, the General Army Reserve (Caduad) was formed, with Suharto being appointed as its commander. Caduad would in 1963 change its name to the Army Strategic Reserves Command (
Kostrad
The Army Strategic Reserves Command ( id, Komando Cadangan Strategis Angkatan Darat; abbreviated ) is a combined-arms formation of the Indonesian Army. Kostrad is a Corps level command which has up to 35,000 troops. It also supervises operati ...
). At the beginning of 1962, Nasution and Yani were the overall commanders of the so-called Liberation of West Irian, with Suharto stationed in east Indonesia as the field commander.
Rivalry with the Communists
![AH Nasution, Jalesveva Jayamahe, p11](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/AH_Nasution%2C_Jalesveva_Jayamahe%2C_p11.jpg)
Around this time, Sukarno had begun to see the
Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) instead of the army as his main political ally. Although he had set Indonesia on a non-aligned course during the
Cold War, the revelation that the PRRI was given assistance by the United States, caused Sukarno to adopt an anti-American stance. In this, he had the PKI as a natural ally. For the PKI, an alliance with Sukarno would only add to its political momentum as their influence continued to grow in Indonesian politics. Nasution was wary of the PKI's influence over Sukarno and in turn, Sukarno was aware that Nasution was not happy about the PKI's influence and made a move to weaken his power. In July 1962, Sukarno reorganised the structure of ABRI. The status of the heads of the Armed Forces branches would now be upgraded from chief of staff to commander. As commanders, the heads of the armed forces branches would have more power and would answer only to Sukarno as the
Supreme Commander of ABRI.
Assisting Sukarno as supreme commander of ABRI, would be an ABRI chief of staff. Sukarno appointed Nasution to the position of ABRI chief of staff
and appointed Yani as the army commander. By doing this, Sukarno had decreased Nasution's powers as the ABRI chief of staff was only responsible for administrative matters and commanced no troops. Now in a powerless position, Nasution began to think of other ways to stop the PKI's momentum. The right moment came at the Provisional
People's Consultative Assembly (MPRS) General Session in May 1963. During the General Session, Nasution had the
Indonesian National Party
The Indonesian National Party ( id, Partai Nasional Indonesia, PNI) was the name used by several nationalist political parties in Indonesia from 1927 until the 2000s. The first PNI was established by future President Sukarno. After independence, th ...
(PNI) as well as the Army members present put forward the motion that Sukarno be appointed
president for life.
The rationale behind this was that with Sukarno being appointed president for life, there would be no elections, and without elections, the PKI would not be able to get in power no matter how much the party grew. The motion was carried through and Sukarno became president for life.
Division with Yani
Nasution soon began developing an attitude of hostility towards Yani. Both Nasution and Yani were anti-communists, but their attitude towards Sukarno was different. Nasution was critical of Sukarno for backing and supporting the PKI, while Yani, a Sukarno loyalist, adopted a softer stance. Nasution criticised Yani's soft stance and relations between the two soured. To make matters worse, Yani began replacing regional commanders who were close to Nasution with those who were close to himself. On 13 January 1965, a delegation of officers representing Nasution and Yani met in an attempt to reconcile the differences between the two officers.
The meeting was unsuccessful in attempting to get Yani to distance himself from Sukarno, but delegates agreed to hold seminars where officers could talk about the current political climate and the role of the army in politics. As the year went on, a document was circulated in Jakarta. Dubbed the
Gilchrist Document, it was a letter purporting to come from British ambassador Andrew Gilchrist, and mentioned "our local army friends". Suspicion was immediately cast on the army wanting to launch a coup. Although Yani was quick to deny the allegations, the PKI began running a smear campaign, claiming that a Council of Generals were planning to overthrow the president. As the most senior officers in the Army, Nasution and Yani were implicated to be part of this Council.
G30S and Transition to New Order
Kidnapping attempt
![AHNasution1965](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/AHNasution1965.jpg)
On the morning of 1 October 1965, troops calling themselves the
30 September Movement
The Thirtieth of September Movement ( id, Gerakan 30 September, abbreviated as G30S, also known by the acronym Gestapu for ''Gerakan September Tiga Puluh'', Thirtieth of September Movement) was a self-proclaimed organization of Indonesian Na ...
(G30S) attempted to kidnap seven anti-communist Army officers including Nasution. Lieutenant Arief was the leader of the squad assigned to capture Nasution, and his team in four trucks and two military cars travelled down a deserted Jalan Teuku Umar at 4:00 am. Nasution's home was at No. 40, a modest single storey home. The guard in the sentry box outside the house saw the vehicles coming, but upon seeing the men were soldiers he was not suspicious and did not call his superior, Sergeant Iskaq, who was in charge of the army detail guarding the house. The sergeant was in a guardroom in the front room along with half a dozen soldiers some of whom were asleep. A guard was asleep in the front garden and another was on duty at the rear of the house. In a separate cottage, two of Nasutions aides were asleep, a young army lieutenant
Pierre Tendean
Pierre Andries Tendean (21 February 1939 – 1 October 1965) was an Indonesian Army lieutenant. He was best known as a victim of the 30th September Movement (30 September Movement, G30S) and posthumously awarded as revolution hero, later Indonesia ...
, and assistant police commissioner Hamdan Mansjur.
Before the alarm could be raised, Arief's squad had jumped the fence and overpowered the sleepy guards in the sentry box and guard room. Others entered from around the side of the house and covered it from the rear. About fifteen soldiers broke into the house. Both Nasution and his wife were bothered by mosquitoes and were awake. Neither heard the guards being overpowered but Mrs Nasution heard a door being forced. She got out of bed to check and on opening the bedroom door, she saw a
Cakrabirawa (presidential bodyguard) soldier with a gun ready to shoot. She slammed the door shut and yelled a warning to her husband. Nasution wanted to take a look himself and when he opened the door, the soldier shot at him. He flung himself to the floor and his wife slammed and locked the door. The men on the other side began to smash the door down and fired a volley of shots into the bedroom. Mrs. Nasution pushed her husband out through another door and down a corridor to a side entrance to the house. He dashed across his garden to the wall separating his garden and that of neighbouring Iraqi ambassador. He was spotted by soldiers who fired off a volley of shots but missed. Scaling the wall, Nasution, broke his ankle as he fell into the ambassador's garden to hide. He was not pursued.
The entire Nasution household was awakened and frightened by the shooting. Nasution's mother and sister, Mardiah, also lived in the house and ran to his bedroom. Mardiah grabbed Nasution's five-year-old daughter, Irma, from her bed, cradling the child protectively in her arms, and tried to run to safety. As she ran past, a corporal from the palace guard fired a round of shots at her through a door. Mardiah was hit in the hand and Irma received three bullets in her spine. She died five days later in hospital. Nasution's eldest daughter, 13-year-old Janti, and her nurse Alfiah had run to the cottage housing Nasution's aides and hid under a bed.
Tendean loaded his weapon and ran from the house, but was caught within a few steps. In the darkness, he was mistaken for Nasution and taken away at gunpoint. After pushing her husband out of the house, Mrs Nasution ran inside and picked up her wounded daughter. As she phoned for a doctor, Cakrabirawa troops demanded she tell them her husband's whereabouts. Reportedly she had a brief and angry exchange with Arief telling him that Nasution had been out of town for a few days. A whistle blow outside and the men in the house left taking Tendean with them. The whole affair had taken nine minutes. Mrs Nasution took her wounded daughter to the Central military hospital and guards sounded the alarm. The Jakarta garrison commander,
Major General Umar Wirahadikusumah, rushed to the Nasution home.
A guard outside the house of
Johannes Leimena
Johannes Leimena (Often abbreviated as J. Leimana; 6 March 1905 – 29 March 1977), more colloquially referred to as Om Jo, was an Indonesian politician, physician, and national hero. He was one of the longest-serving government ministers in I ...
, a neighbour of Nasution's and one of Indonesia's three deputy premiers, heard the commotion and walked down to the Nasution house. In the confusion the guard was shot and killed. This led to stories of Lemeina being on the plotter's list and of an attack on Lemeina's house. However, the killing of the guard was unplanned.
Nasution continued hiding in the garden of his neighbour until 6 am when he returned to his house with a broken ankle. Nasution then asked his adjutants to take him to the Ministry of Defense and Security because he thought it would be safer there. He was driven there crouching on the floor of a car. Nasution then sent a message to Suharto at Kostrad headquarters, telling him that he was alive and safe. After knowing that Suharto was taking command of the army, Nasution then ordered him to take measures such as finding the whereabouts of the president, contacting navy commander
RE Martadinata, marine corps commander Hartono as well as the chief of police Sucipto Judodiharjo, and secure Jakarta by closing off all roads leading up to it. The air force was excluded because its Commander
Omar Dhani was suspected of being a G30S sympathiser. Suharto immediately integrated these orders into his plan to secure the city.
At around 2 pm, after the G30S Movement announced the formation of a Revolutionary Council, Nasution sent another order to Suharto, Martadinata and Judodiharjo. In the order, Nasution said that he was convinced that Sukarno had been kidnapped and taken to the G30S headquarters in Halim. He therefore ordered ABRI to free the president, restore security to Jakarta, and most importantly, appointed Suharto to head the operations. Just as Suharto began working however, a message came from Sukarno at Halim. Sukarno had decided to appoint
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
Pranoto Reksosamudro
Major General Pranoto Reksosamodra (16 April 1923 – 9 June 1992) was an Indonesian Army general who was briefly army chief of staff and was detained for 15 years without trial for alleged involvement in the 30 September Movement coup a ...
– a Sukarno loyalist – to the position of Army Commander and now wanted Pranoto to come see him. Suharto did not allow Pranoto to go but he knew that Sukarno would not give up in trying to summon Pranoto. To strengthen his bargaining position, Suharto asked Nasution to come to the Kostrad Headquarters.
Nasution arrived at the Kostrad headquarters at around 6 pm, just as Suharto began deploying
Sarwo Edhie Wibowo's troops to secure Jakarta from the G30S Movement. There, Nasution finally received
first aid
First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial in ...
for his broken ankle. Once Jakarta was safely secured, Martadinata came to the Kostrad headquarters with a copy of the Presidential Decree which appointed Pranoto. After seeing the decree, Suharto invited Martadinata and Nasution into a room to discuss the situation.
Nasution asked Martadinata how the president came to appoint Pranoto. Martadinata replied that during the afternoon he, Judodiharjo, and Dhani had attended a meeting with Sukarno at Halim to decide who should become the army commander now that Yani was dead. The meeting had decided that Pranoto should become army commander. Nasution said that Sukarno's appointment could not be accepted as the appointment came when Suharto had begun with the operations. Nasution also added that he would back Suharto's decision to not let Pranoto go to Halim. Nasution and Suharto then invited Pranoto in and convinced him to delay accepting his appointment as army commander until after Suharto finished putting down the attempted coup d'état.
With Sarwo Edhie's troops, Jakarta was quickly secured. Suharto then turned his attention to Halim and began making preparations to attack the air base. To assist him, Nasution ordered the navy and the police to assist Suharto in putting down the G30S Movement. To the air force, Nasution issued an order saying that they would not be charged with
insubordination
Insubordination is the act of willfully disobeying a lawful order of one's superior. It is generally a punishable offense in hierarchical organizations such as the armed forces, which depend on people lower in the chain of command obeying ord ...
if they refused to obey Dhani's orders. By 6 am on 2 October, Halim was overtaken and the G30S Movement was officially put down.
Missed opportunity
Although Suharto had been the man of the hour on 1 October, many of the other Army officers still turned to Nasution for leadership and had expected him to take more decisive control of the situation. However, Nasution seemed indecisive and slowly but surely the support began to swing away from him. Perhaps this reason was because he was still grieving over his daughter, Ade Irma, who died on 6 October. In the first few weeks after G30S, Nasution was the one who constantly lobbied Sukarno to have Suharto appointed Army Commander. Sukarno, who after 1 October wanted to keep Pranoto, had originally only made Suharto the Commander of
Kopkamtib
The Operational Command for the Restoration of Security and Order ( id, Komando Operasi Pemulihan Keamanan dan Ketertiban), or Kopkamtib, was a military body established to deal with the 1965 coup attempt operation in Indonesia, and was subsequen ...
, but with Nasution's constant lobbying, Sukarno was finally persuaded and on 14 October 1965, appointed Suharto as the army commander. A golden opportunity came to Nasution in December 1965 when there was talk of his being appointed as vice-president to assist Sukarno in the times of uncertainty. Nasution did not capitalise on this and chose to do nothing. Suharto, whose political momentum was growing, took the initiative in early 1966 by issuing a statement saying that there was no need to fill the vacant vice presidency.
On 24 February 1966, Nasution was removed from his position as Minister of Defense and Security in a
cabinet reshuffle
A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the Head of State changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parli ...
. The position of ABRI Chief of Staff was also abolished. By this stage, the expectation that Nasution would do something was now gone as army officers and student movements alike rallied behind Suharto. Nevertheless, he continued to be a respected figure as many army officers visited him in the days leading up to the signing of
Supersemar
The Order of Eleventh March ( id, Surat Perintah Sebelas Maret), commonly referred to by its syllabic abbreviation ''Supersemar'', was a document signed by the Indonesian President Sukarno on 11 March 1966, giving army commander Lt. Gen. Suhar ...
document handing over authority from Sukarno to Suharto. In fact, when Suharto was about to go the Kostrad Headquarters to wait for the delivery of the Supersemar, he called Nasution and asked him for his blessing. Nasution's wife gave the blessing on behalf of Nasution, who was not present. Nasution's political senses seemed to have returned after Suharto received the Supersemar. It was perhaps he who first realised that Supersemar not only gave Suharto emergency powers but also gave him executive control. On 12 March 1966, after Suharto had the PKI banned, Nasution suggested to Suharto that he form an emergency Cabinet.
Suharto, still cautious about what he could or could not do with his new powers replied that forming a cabinet was the responsibility of the president. Nasution encouraged Suharto, promising him full support but Suharto did not respond and the conversation ended abruptly.
Chairman of the MPRS
![NasutionSuharto1967](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/NasutionSuharto1967.jpg)
With his new powers, Suharto began purging the government of what he perceived to be communist influence. After the arrest of 15 cabinet ministers on 18 March 1966, Suharto went after the Provisional People's Consultative Assembly (MPRS), removing members thought to be communist sympathizers and replacing them with members more sympathetic to the army's cause. During the purge, the MPRS also lost its chairman,
Chaerul Saleh
Chairul Saleh Dt Paduko Rajo (September 13, 1916 – February 8, 1967) was born in Sawahlunto, West Sumatra. He was an Indonesian government minister and vice prime minister during the Sukarno presidency. He was a close confidant of Sukarno, who ...
, and there was a need to fill in the vacant position. Nasution was an overwhelmingly popular choice as all of the factions in the MPRS nominated him for the position of MPRS chairman. However, Nasution waited until Suharto expressed support for his nomination before accepting the nomination. On 20 June 1966, the MPRS General Session began. Nasution set
Supersemar
The Order of Eleventh March ( id, Surat Perintah Sebelas Maret), commonly referred to by its syllabic abbreviation ''Supersemar'', was a document signed by the Indonesian President Sukarno on 11 March 1966, giving army commander Lt. Gen. Suhar ...
(Order of the Eleventh of March) as the first agenda on the list by walking into the assembly hall with the physical document. The next day, on 21 June, the MPRS ratified Supersemar, making it illegal for Sukarno to withdraw it.
On 22 June, Sukarno delivered a speech entitled Nawaksara (Nine Points) in front of the assembly. Nasution and the other MPRS members, who had hoped for Sukarno's account of G30S were disappointed. Nothing about the G30S was mentioned. Instead, Sukarno seemed to give an account about his appointment as president for life, his plan of work as president, and how the Constitution worked in practice. This MPRS would refuse to ratify this speech. Over the next two weeks, Nasution presided over a busy MPRS General Session. Under his Chairmanship, the MPRS took measures such as banning
Marxism-Leninism, revoking Sukarno's life presidency, and ordering a legislative election to be held by July 1968. The MPRS General Session also increased Suharto's power by officially ordering him to formulate a new cabinet. A decree was also passed which stated that if the president was unable to carry out his duties, he would now be replaced by the holder of the Supersemar instead of the vice-president.
As 1966 wore on, Sukarno was increasingly on the defensive and his popularity was at an all-time low. Suharto, who knew that his political victory was near, took to playing the role of the polite Javanese by constantly giving Sukarno reassuring words and defending him from the protests. Other generals such as Nasution were not as merciful, as the year drew to a close, Nasution claimed that Sukarno should be held responsible for the dire situation which his Government left Indonesia in. Nasution also called for Sukarno be taken to trial. On 10 January 1967, Nasution and the MPRS assembled again as Sukarno submitted his report (he did not deliver it in person as a speech) which was hoped to finally address the issue of G30S. Dubbed the ''Pelengkap Nawaksara'' (Nawaksara Addendum), the report spoke about Sukarno's insistence of calling G30S the 1 October Movement (Gestok). On G30S, Sukarno said that PKI made a big mistake on the morning of 1 October but also added that this was due to the cunning of the
neo-colonialists.
In a subtle jab towards Nasution, Sukarno added that if he was going to be blamed for the G30S, the Minister of Defense and Security at the time should also be blamed for not seeing G30S coming and stopping it before it happened.
The report was once again rejected by the MPRS. In February 1967, the DPR called for an MPRS Special Session in March to replace Sukarno with Suharto. Sukarno seemed resigned to his fate, officially handling day to day control of the Government to Suharto on 22 February 1967 and requiring him only to report if necessary. Finally on 12 March 1967, Sukarno was officially removed from power by the MPRS. Nasution then swore Suharto into office as the acting president. A year later on 27 March 1968, Nasution presided over Suharto's election and inauguration as full President.
In the New Order
Fall from power and opposition
Despite the assistance that Nasution gave him in his rise to power, Suharto viewed Nasution as a rival and immediately began working to remove him from power. In 1969, Nasution was barred from speaking at Seskoad and the Military Academy.
In 1971, Nasution was suddenly discharged from military service at the age of 53, two years before the designated retirement age of 55. Nasution was finally removed in 1972 as the new batch of MPR members (elected during the 1971 Legislative Elections) came in and elected
Idham Chalid
Idham Chalid (27 August 1921 – 11 July 2010) was an Indonesian politician, religious leader, and minister, who served as Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly and Chairman of the People's Representative Council from 1972 until 1977. He ...
to replace him as MPR chairman. Nasution's drastic fall earned him the nickname of ''Gelandangan Politik'' (Political Bum). Once he was removed from positions of power, Nasution developed into a political opponent of the New Order Regime. By the late 70's Suharto's regime had turned from popular to
authoritarian and corrupt. At this time many voices began to openly speak out and criticise the regime. After the
1977 legislative election, in which there was alleged
electoral fraud by Suharto's
Golkar
)
, foundation =
, youth = AMPG (Golkar Party Young Force)
, women = KPPG (Golkar Party Women's Corps)
, newspaper = ''Suara Karya'' (1971–2016)
, headquarters = Jakarta
, ideology ...
party, Nasution said that there was a crisis in leadership in the New Order.
In July 1978, together with former vice-president Hatta, Nasution set up the Institute for Constitutional Awareness Foundation (YLKB). Suharto's government moved quickly and did not allow YLKB to conduct its first meeting in January 1979. Nasution and the YLKB did not give up. In August 1979, it managed to hold a meeting which DPR members attended. Perhaps significantly, ABRI members attended the meeting. During the meeting, Nasution criticised the New Order for not fully implementing
Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution.
Suharto did not take the criticism lightly. On 27 March 1980, at an ABRI Meeting, Suharto in a speech said that ABRI members should be ready to defend their seats in the DPR and that they should align themselves with forces that are for Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution such as Golkar. Suharto followed this up with another speech on 16 April 1980, on the occasion of
Kopassus
The Kopassus ( id, Komando Pasukan Khusus, Special Forces Command) is an Indonesian Army (TNI-AD) special forces group that conducts special operations missions for the Indonesian government, such as direct action, unconventional warfare, sabot ...
' anniversary. in which he denied allegations of corruption and claimed that if he had to, he would kidnap MPR members if that would prevent the MPR from having the two-thirds majority required to change the constitution.
Nasution then decided that the opponents of the regime should make a major statement. He gathered ABRI members who were disgruntled with the Suharto regime such as former governor of Jakarta
Ali Sadikin
Ali Sadikin (7 July 1926 – 20 May 2008), better known as Bang Ali, was an Indonesian politician who served as the fourth governor of Jakarta from 1966 until 1977. Prior to becoming governor, he served as Minister of Transportation from 1963 u ...
, former chief of police
Hoegeng Iman Santoso, and former deputy army chief of staff . Former prime ministers
Mohammed Natsir and
Burhanuddin Harahap
Burhanuddin Harahap ( EVO: Boerhanoeddin Harahap; 12 February 1917 – 14 June 1987) was an Indonesian politician and lawyer who served as the 9th prime minister of Indonesia from 1955 until 1956. A member of the Masyumi Party, he also se ...
as well as PDRI chairman
Syafruddin Prawiranegara joined in. Together with many other well-known critics of the government, they signed a petition which would become known as ''Petisi 50'' (
Petition of Fifty), so-called because there were 50 signatories. The petition was signed on 5 May 1980 and delivered to the DPR on 13 May 1980. It called for Suharto to stop interpreting Pancasila to suit his own ends and for ABRI to be neutral in politics instead of favouring Golkar. The DPR, especially members of the
United Development Party
The United Development Party ( id, Partai Persatuan Pembangunan, sometimes translated as Development Unity Party; abbreviated PPP) is an Islam-basedAl-Hamdi, Ridho. (2013). ''Partai politik Islam: Teori dan praktik di Indonesia''. Yogyakarta: Grah ...
(PPP) and the
Indonesian Democratic Party
The Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) was one of the two state-approved parties during the New Order era of the late 20th-century in Indonesia.
Origins
Ten political parties participated in the 1971 legislative elections, a number that Pres ...
took the petition seriously and asked Suharto to respond on the issue. Suharto replied that his speeches on 27 March 1980 and 16 April 1980 were a sufficient enough response. He added if there were any problem, the DPR could pass a motion for a special investigation. Here the PPP and PDI members stopped, knowing that their motion would be defeated because of by Golkar dominance. For signatories to the petition such as Nasution, Suharto imposed travel bans and made business dealings difficult so that the petition signatories would have a hard time making a living.
Reconciliation
By the beginning of the 1990s, Suharto was beginning to adopt a policy of political openness, and enforcement of Petition of 50 Signatories' punishment was loosened. In June 1993, when he was in hospital because of illness, Nasution was visited by the army's top brass. He then received a visit from
BJ Habibie, Suharto's Minister of Technology. Habibie then invited Nasution and the other signatories to visit his shipyard and the aircraft factory which had been put under his jurisdiction. The government also began claiming that although there was a travel ban for the Petition of 50 Signatories, the ban did not apply to Nasution. For his part, Nasution denied criticising the government, preferring to call it a "difference of opinion". Finally, in July 1993, Suharto invited Nasution to the Presidential Palace for a meeting. This was followed by another meeting on 18 August 1993, after the Independence Day celebrations.
Nothing political was talked about, but it was clear that both men were keen to reconcile their differences.
In an interview in 1995, Nasution encouraged Indonesia to go through a reconciliation process so that the nation could be united under the leadership of Suharto. On 5 October 1997, on the occasion of ABRI's anniversary, Nasution was given the honorary rank ''
Jenderal Besar'', a rank that he shared with
Suharto and
Sudirman
General of the Army Raden Sudirman ( Old Spelling: Soedirman; 24 January 1916 – 29 January 1950) was a high-ranking Indonesian military officer during the Indonesian National Revolution. The first commander of the Indonesian National Ar ...
.
Death
Nasution died on 5 September 2000 in
Jakarta after suffering a
stroke and going into a coma. He was buried at the
Kalibata Heroes Cemetery
The National Main Heroes Cemetery in Kalibata ( id, Taman Makam Pahlawan Nasional Utama, Kalibata, colloquially known as Kalibata Heroes Cemetery ( id, Taman Makam Pahlawan Kalibata, or ''TMP Kalibata'') is a military cemetery in Kalibata, South ...
,
South Jakarta
South Jakarta ( id, Jakarta Selatan; bew, Jakarte Beludik ), colloquially known as ''Jaksel'', is one of the five administrative cities which form the Special Capital Region of Jakarta, Indonesia. South Jakarta is not self-governed and does not ...
.
Family
![AH Nasution with his family - 1965](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/AH_Nasution_with_his_family_-_1965.jpg)
Nasution was married to Johanna Sunarti, with whom he had two daughters, Hendriyanti Sahara and Ade Irma Suryani. Ade Irma Suryani died in the 30 September Movement. Sunarti died in 2010 aged 87.
Miscellaneous
Umar Wirahadikusumah
Umar Wirahadikusumah (; 10 October 1924 – 21 March 2003) was an Indonesian politician and former army general, who served as the fourth Vice President of Indonesia, serving from 1983 until 1988. Previously, he was chair of the Audit Board of ...
served as Nasution's adjutant from 1946–1947.
The former residence of Nasution at Jl Teuku Umar No 40,
Menteng
Menteng is the south-central district of Central Jakarta, one of the administrative municipalities in the capital city Jakarta, Indonesia.
The nexus of its heritage is the Menteng neighbourhood (Project), a new urban design developed mainly i ...
, in central Jakarta has been converted into a museum.
Honours
As the Officer in the
Indonesian Army (1945-1971), then as Speaker of the
People's Consultative Assembly (1966-1972), he has received several
Star Decorations, namely:
National honours
*
![Bintang Republik_Indonesia Adipradana Ribbon1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Bintang_Republik_Indonesia_Adipradana_Ribbon1.gif)
Star of the Republic of Indonesia, 2nd Class ( id,
Bintang Republik Indonesia Adipradana) (26 September 1997)
*
![Bintang Republik Indonesia Utama Ribbon1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Bintang_Republik_Indonesia_Utama_Ribbon1.gif)
Star of the Republic of Indonesia, 3rd Class ( id,
Bintang Republik Indonesia Utama) (10 January 1963)
*
![Bintang Mahaputera Adipradana Rib](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Bintang_Mahaputera_Adipradana_Rib.png)
Star of Mahaputera, 2nd Class ( id,
Bintang Mahaputera Adipradana) (1961)
*
![Bintang Sakti Rib](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Bintang_Sakti_Rib.png)
The Sacred Star ( id,
Bintang Sakti)
*
![Bintang Dharma Ribbon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Bintang_Dharma_Ribbon.gif)
Military Distinguished Service Star ( id,
Bintang Dharma)
*
![Bintang Yudha Dharma Utama](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Bintang_Yudha_Dharma_Utama.gif)
Star of Yudha Dharma, 1st Class ( id,
Bintang Yudha Dharma Utama)
*
![Bintang Kartika Eka Paksi Utama](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Bintang_Kartika_Eka_Paksi_Utama.gif)
Star of Kartika Eka Paksi, 1st Class ( id,
Bintang Kartika Eka Paksi Utama)
*
![Star of the Navy - 1st Class (Indonesia) - ribbon bar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Star_of_the_Navy_-_1st_Class_%28Indonesia%29_-_ribbon_bar.png)
Star of Jalasena, 1st Class ( id,
Bintang Jalasena Utama)
*
![Bintang Swa Bhuana Paksa Utama](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Bintang_Swa_Bhuana_Paksa_Utama.gif)
Star of Swa Bhuwana Paksa, 1st Class ( id,
Bintang Swa Bhuwana Paksa Utama)
*
![Bintang Bhayangkara Utama](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Bintang_Bhayangkara_Utama.gif)
Star of Bhayangkara, 1st Class ( id,
Bintang Bhayangkara Utama)
*
![Bintang gerilya rib](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Bintang_gerilya_rib.png)
Guerrilla Star ( id,
Bintang Gerilya)
*
![Indonesian Armed Forces](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Indonesian_Armed_Forces_%228_Years%22_Service_Star_%281945-1953%29.gif)
Indonesian Armed Forces "8 Years" Service Star ( id,
Bintang Sewindu Angkatan Perang Republik Indonesia)
*
![Satyalencana Peringatan Kemerdekaan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Satyalencana_Peringatan_Kemerdekaan.png)
Anniversary of the Struggle for Independence Medal ( id,
Satyalancana Peringatan Perjuangan Kemerdekaan)
*
![Satyalencana Kesetiaan XVI](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Satyalencana_Kesetiaan_XVI.gif)
Military Long Service Medal, 16 Years Service ( id,
Satyalancana Kesetiaan XVI Tahun)
*
![Satyalencana Jasadharma AL](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Satyalencana_Jasadharma_AL.png)
Navy Distinguished Service Medal ( id,
Satyalancana Jasadharma Angkatan Laut)
*
![Satyalancana Perang Kemerdekaan I](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Satyalancana_Perang_Kemerdekaan_I.gif)
1st Independence War Medal ( id,
Satyalancana Perang Kemerdekaan I)
*
![Satya Lencana Perang Kemerderkaan II](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Satyalancana_Perang_Kemerdekaan_II.gif)
2nd Independence War Medal ( id,
Satyalancana Perang Kemerdekaan II)
*
![Satya Lencana GOM I](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Satya_Lencana_GOM_I.gif)
Military Operational Service Medal for Madiun 1947 ( id,
Satyalancana G.O.M I)
*
![Satyalencana G](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Satyalencana_G.O.M._II.gif)
Military Operational Service Medal for Angkatan Ratu Adil 1947 ( id,
Satyalancana G.O.M II)
*
![Satyalencana G](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Satyalencana_G.O.M._III.gif)
Military Operational Service Medal for Republik Malaku Selatan 1950 ( id,
Satyalancana G.O.M III)
*
![Satyalencana G](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Satyalancana_G.O.M._IV.gif)
Military Operational Service Medal for Sulawesi 1958 ( id,
Satyalancana G.O.M IV)
*
![Satyalencana Satya Dharma](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Satyalencana_Satya_Dharma.png)
Military Service Medal for Irian Jaya 1962 ( id,
Satyalancana Satya Dharma)
*
![Satyalencana Wira Dharma (1963)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Satyalencana_Wira_Dharma_%281963%29.gif)
Northern Borneo Military Campaign Medal ( id,
Satyalancana Wira Dharma)
*
![Satya Lencana Penegak](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Satya_Lencana_Penegak.gif)
Medal for Combat Against Communists ( id,
Satyalancana Penegak)
Foreign honours
*: Grand Cross of the
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...
(1963)
*: Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of Orange-Nassau
The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands.
The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...
(1971)
*: Knight Grand Cross of the Most Exalted
Order of the White Elephant
__NOTOC__
The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันเป็นที่เชิดชูยิ่งช้างเผือก; ) is an order of Thailand. It wa ...
(1960)
*: Grand Cross and Collar of the
Order of the Holy Trinity (1968)
*:
** First Rank of the
Order of the Yugoslav Flag
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...
with Sash (1961)
** First Rank of the
Order of the People's Army
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
with Laurer Wreath (1960)
*:
** Grand Cross ''(Datu)'' of the
Order of Sikatuna
The Order of Sikatuna ( fil, Orden ng Sikatuna) is the national order of diplomatic merit of the Republic of the Philippines. It is conferred upon individuals who have rendered exceptional and meritorious services to the Republic of the Philippin ...
(1967)
** Commander of the
Philippine Legion of Honor
The Philippine Legion of Honor ( fil, Lehiyong Pandangal ng Pilipinas; es, Legion de Honor Filipino) was established by President Manuel Roxas, through Philippine Army Circular No. 60 dated July 3, 1947. The Philippine Legion of Honor was patterne ...
(1963)
*:
References
Cited sources
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Further reading
* ''Fundamentals of Guerrilla Warfare.'' New York: Praeger, 1965
* C.L.M. Penders and Ulf Sundhaussen, ''Abdul Haris Nasution: a political biography'' (St. Lucia; New York: University of Queensland Press, 1985)
*
External links
Abdul Haris Nasution profile on Tokohindonesia.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasution, Abdul Haris
1918 births
2000 deaths
Chiefs of Staff of the Indonesian Army
Commanders of the Indonesian National Armed Forces
Defense ministers of Indonesia
Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Indonesian anti-communists
Indonesian collaborators with Imperial Japan
Indonesian generals
Indonesian Muslims
National Heroes of Indonesia
People from Mandailing Natal Regency
People of Batak descent
Speakers of the People's Consultative Assembly