The Republic of the United States of Indonesia Cabinet ( id, Kabinet Republik Indonesia Serikat) was established as a result of the formation 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 (except ...

following the transfer of sovereignty from the Dutch colonial power. It lasted less than a year before Indonesia became a unitary state.

Background

President

Sukarno Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of ...

, the president of the United States of Indonesia, appointed

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 ...

Ida Anak Agung Gde Agung Ide Anak Agung Gde Agung ( Old Spelling: Ide Anak Agoeng Gde Agoeng; 21 July 1921 – 22 April 1999), alternatively spelled too as Ida Anak Agung Gde Agung, was an Indonesian ethnic- Balinese politician, historian, and National Hero, who was th ...

, Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX and Sultan Hamid II to choose the cabinet of the new country. Two days later, on 20 December 1949, the cabinet was sworn in, and a week later formally accepted the sovereignty of the nation from the Dutch.Feith (2007) p46

Composition

Only five cabinet members came from the outside the federal state of the

Republic of 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 Guinea. Ind ...

. Hatta worked hard to ensure that ministers were appointed based on competence, rather than party affiliation, and four of the ministers from the Republic of Indonesia did not belong to any party. In practice, Hatta had a very dominant position in the cabinet, due to his close relationship with Sukarno, his success at the

Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference The Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference was held in The Hague from 23 August to 2 November 1949, between representatives of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Indonesia and the Federal Consultative Assembly, representing va ...

and his role during key events during the

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List o ...

.Feith (2007) pp 47-52

Changes

On 19 January 1950, State Minister Moh. Roem was appointed to the RUSI High Commission 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 resigned from the cabinet. Following a report from the attorney general, State Minister Sultan Hamid II was dismissed on 5 April 1950 for involvement in the rebellion led by

Raymond Westerling Raymond Pierre Paul Westerling (31 August 1919 – 26 November 1987) was a Greek-Dutch military officer of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army. He orchestrated a contraguerrilla in Sulawesi during the Indonesian National Revolution aft ...

. Neither of these state ministers were replaced.Simanjuntak (2003) p94Feith (2007) p47

The end of the cabinet

On 15 August 1950, the United States of Indonesia ceased to exist and was replaced by the unitary state of Indonesia. On the same day, Prime Minister Hatta returned his mandate to President Sukarno. The Republic of the United States of Indonesia Cabinet was officially dissolved but continued as the cabinet of the Republic of Indonesia until a new cabinet could be formed.Simanjuntak (2003) p102

References

* Feith, Herbert (2007) ''The Decline of Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia '' Equinox Publishing (Asia) Pte Ltd, * Kahin, George McTurnan (1952) ''Nationalism and Revolution in Indonesia'' Cornell University Press, * Ricklefs (1982), ''A History of Modern Indonesia'', Macmillan Southeast Asian reprint, *

Notes

{{Cabinets of Indonesia Cabinets of Indonesia