The Indonesian Christian Party ( id, Partai Kristen Indonesia), better known as Parkindo, was a Christian political party active in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

from 1950 until 1973, when it was merged to make 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 ...

. Founded by

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 In ...

and

Melanchton Siregar Melanchton Siregar (August 7, 1912 – February 24, 1975) was the co-founder and last chairman of the Indonesian Christian Party, and the commander of the Arrow Division, the military wing of the North Sumatra branch of the Indonesian Christian P ...

, the former Military Governor of

North Sumatra North Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Utara) is a province of Indonesia located on the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan. North Sumatra is Indonesia's fourth most populous province after West Java, East Java and ...

, who was known as a local teacher 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 ...

. Its support was concentrated in

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

areas of Indonesia. It had considerable influence despite the small number of Christians in Indonesia due to the large numbers of Christians in the civil service, the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and educational establishments and because of the high profile of party leader Johannes Leimena who served in several Indonesian cabinets and as deputy prime minister.Feith (2007) p. 145 In the

1955 Indonesian legislative election Legislative elections were held in Indonesia on 29 September 1955, to elect the 257 members of the People's Representative Council, the country's national legislature. The elections were the first national election held since the end of the Indo ...

, the party won 2.6% of the vote and eight seats in the

People's Representative Council The People's Representative Council of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Republik Indonesia, DPR-RI), also known as the House of Representatives, is one of two elected chambers of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), ...

.Feith (2007) p. 434 However, in the 1971 elections, the last it contested before being merged into the

, it gained only 1.34% of the vote.Evans (2003) pp. 21-21Liddle (1994) p. 46

History

Pre-independence

The first Christian party in 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 ...

was the Christelijk Ethische Partij (), which was established on 25 September 1917. According to the constitution of the party, the party strives to make the statutes of God, as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, nature and history, the foundation of the political life in the Dutch East Indies. At the formation of the party, it had around 800 members. The party also invited native Indonesians, which was a rarity for Dutch-majority party at that time. The party changed its name to Christenlijk Staatkundige Partei () on 1929. The party gained five seats in the

1935 Dutch East Indies Volksraad election Elections to the Volksraad were held in the Dutch East Indies in 1935. Electoral system The Volksraad had a total of 60 members, 38 of which were elected and 22 appointed.S.L. van der Wal & J.B. Wolters (1965) ''De Volksraad en de staatkundige on ...

, on which three seats to the native Indonesians, and two seats to Europeans.

Establishment

The party was established following the decree by the government on 3 November 1945 to form "as many political parties as possible" in Indonesia. The decree was an attempt by the government to eradicate rumors that stated that Sukarno and Hatta would make Indonesia a

one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...

, governed by 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 ...

. Six days after the decree, Christian politicians of Indonesia held a meeting to discuss the possibility of establishing a party for Christians. The meeting was held in the Pasundan Church. The Protestants sent Basuki Probowinoto, Todung Sutan Gunung Mulia, Fredrick Laoh,

Wilhelmus Zakaria Johannes Wilhelmus Zakaria Johannes (1895 – September 4, 1952) was an Indonesian radiology medical doctor. Johannes was the first Indonesian medical Physician, doctor who learned radiology in the CBZ (Civil Hospital) in Jakarta, Batavia and then became an ...

, J. K. Panggabean, Soedarsono, Maryoto and Martinus Abednego, while the Catholics sent Suradi and Hadi. After the delegates agreed to form a political party, the Catholic delegates withdrew from the meeting, giving the reason that they had to talk about it first with the leaders of the Catholic Church. The meeting finally produced an agreement to form a party for Christians under the name National Christian Party ( id, Partai Kristen Nasional). The name was proposed by Todung Sutan Gunung Mulia. The delegates chose

as the chairman and Maryoto as the general secretary by acclamation. On 10 November 1945, the delegates declared the formation of the National Christian Party.

Notable members

National Heroes of Indonesia

, first chairman of the party *

, third chairman of the party *

Izaak Huru Doko Izaak Huru Doko (also Izaac; 20 November, 1913 – 29 July, 1985) is a Timorese National Hero of Indonesia. The title was granted on 3 November 2006. Biography Doko was born in Sabu, Kupang, Timor, on 20 November, 1913. He completed his primary ed ...

, nominated as the MP of the party from

East Nusa Tenggara East Nusa Tenggara ( id, Nusa Tenggara Timur – NTT; pt, Sonda Oriental) is the southernmost province of Indonesia. It comprises the eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, facing the Indian Ocean in the south and the Flores Sea in the nor ...

Silas Papare Silas Ayari Donrai Papare (18 December 1918 – 7 March 1978) was a Papuan–Indonesian politician and guerilla leader who is a National Hero of Indonesia. Originating from the Yapen Islands, Papare trained and worked as a nurse prior to the Sec ...

Ministers

* Johannes Leimena, seated seven different ministerial positions from 1946 until 1966 * Todung Sutan Gunung Mulia, Minister of Education (1945–1946) * Albert Mangaratua Tambunan, Minister of Social Affairs (1966–1970) * Wilhelm Johannis Rumambi, Liaison Minister (1959–1966), Minister of Enlightenment (1966)

Chairmen

Election results

References

Bibliography

* * *

Feith, Herbert Herbert Feith (3 November 1930 – 15 November 2001) was an Australian academic and world leading scholar of Indonesian politics. Background Born in Vienna, Austria in 1930, Feith witnessed oppression of the Jews and witnessed Kristallnacht in 19 ...

(2007) ''The Decline of Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia '' Equinox Publishing (Asia) Pte Ltd, * Liddle, R. William (1994) ''Pemilu-Pemilu Orde Baru (Elections of the New Order)'', LP3ES, Jakarta * Ricklefs, M.C. (1991) ''A History of Modern Indonesia Since c.1200''. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-4480-7 {{Former Indonesian political parties 1945 establishments in Indonesia 1973 disestablishments in Indonesia Christian political parties Christianity in Indonesia Defunct political parties in Indonesia Political parties disestablished in 1973 Political parties established in 1945