Albert Mangaratua Tambunan (September 25, 1911 – December 12, 1970) was the chairman and the general secretary of the Indonesian Christian Party, and the first deputy speaker of the People's Representative Council, serving for two terms. He was also famous for being the only Christian representative in the Working Body of the

Central Indonesian National Committee The Central Indonesian National Committee, ( id, Komite Nasional Indonesia Pusat) or KNIP, was a body appointed to assist the president of the newly independent Indonesia. Originally purely advisory, it later gained assumed legislative functions. ...

Early life

Albert Mangaratua Tambunan was born in

Tarutung Tarutung (Dutch: ) is a town and the administrative capital (seat) of North Tapanuli Regency (''Kabupaten Tapanuli Utara''), North Sumatra, Sumatra, Indonesia. in the Batak language means "durian The durian (, ) is the edible fruit of se ...

, North Sumatra, Dutch East Indies, September 25, 1911. He went to the high school of law in 1940. After finishing his study, he went to work at the Jakarta High Court as a clerk, and as a judge in the

Cirebon Cirebon (, formerly rendered Cheribon or Chirebon in English) is a port city on the northern coast of the Indonesian island of Java. It is the only coastal city of West Java, located about 40 km west of the provincial border with Central J ...

High Court.

Political career

In the Indonesian Christian Party

Tambunan begin his career in the Indonesian legislative when he was chosen in the Working Body of the

as a regional delegation on 27 November 1945. He became its member until the dissolution of the committee. He went to be the deputy speaker of the People's Representative Council of the

United States of Indonesia The United States of Indonesia ( nl, Verenigde Staten van Indonesië, id, Republik Indonesia Serikat, abbreviated as RIS), was a short-lived federal state to which the Netherlands formally transferred sovereignty of the Dutch East Indies (exce ...

, and the

Provisional People's Representative Council The Provisional People's Representative Council ( id, Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Sementara) was the first Indonesian legislature under the Provisional Constitution of 1950. The council was formed after the transition of Indonesia to a unitary state ...

.Kedaulatan Rakyat, 14 December 1970. In the 1955 Indonesian legislative elections, he was elected as the member of the People's Representative Council from

Parkindo The Indonesian Christian Party ( id, Partai Kristen Indonesia), better known as Parkindo, was a Christian political party active in Indonesia from 1950 until 1973, when it was merged to make the Indonesian Democratic Party. Founded by Johannes ...

, representing North Sumatra electoral district. Tambunan was chosen as the general secretary of the Indonesian Christian Party at its first congress from 6–8 December 1945 in Surakarta. He handed the position to Martinus Abendego after he was rechosen as the Central Indonesian National Committee in 1947. Seventeen years later, he was chosen as the chairman of the party at its 7th congress.

As Minister of Social Affairs

Tambunan served as the Minister of Social Affairs for three terms, in the

Ampera Cabinet The Ampera Cabinet ( id, Kabinet Ampera) was the Indonesian Cabinet which served under President Sukarno and later on, Acting President Suharto from July 1966 until October 1967. The Cabinet was formed after the Provisional People's Consultativ ...

Revised Ampera Cabinet The revised Ampera Cabinet ( id, Kabinet Ampera Yang Disempurnakan) was an Indonesian Cabinet which served under Acting President Suharto from October 1967 until June 1968. In addition to the Acting Presidency, Suharto was also Minister of Defens ...

, and the

First Development Cabinet The First Development Cabinet ( id, Kabinet Pembangunan I) is the name of the cabinet of the Indonesian government led by President Soeharto. This cabinet was announced on June 6, 1968 and served since June 10, 1968 to March 27, 1973. The comp ...

. During his term, Tambunan emphasized the development of the Village Social Institution ( id, Lembaga Sosial Desa, LSD) as the instrument for social development. He also proposed the creation of old-age insurance for the people of Indonesia. Tambunan went to

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, and in 1968, he attended the International Conference of Social Ministers in New York.

Family

Tambunan had one wife and three children (two boys and a daughter).

Death

Tambunan died at the Cendrawasih Pavilion of the Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital. He died on 12 December 1970 at 04.15 after being treated since 2 December due to heart complications, nerve and lungs inflammation.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Authority control 1911 births 1970 deaths Indonesian Christians Social affairs ministers of Indonesia People from North Tapanuli Regency Members of the People's Representative Council, 1950 Members of the People's Representative Council, 1955