The second Sjahrir Cabinet ( id, Kabinet Sjahrir Kedua) was the third

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 ...

n cabinet and the second formed by

Sutan Sjahrir Sutan Sjahrir (5 March 1909 – 9 April 1966) was an Indonesian politician, and revolutionary independence leader, who served as the first Prime Minister of Indonesia, from 1945 until 1947. Previously, he was a key Indonesian nationalist organiz ...

. It served from March to June 1946.

Background

The first Sjahrir cabinet had been forced to resign by

Tan Malaka Tan Malaka (2 June 1897 – 21 February 1949) was an Indonesian teacher, Marxist, philosopher, founder of Struggle Union (Persatuan Perjuangan) and Murba Party, independent guerrilla, Indonesian fighter, and national hero. ''Tempo'' credited hi ...

and his opposition Struggle Front. 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 ...

then offered this group the chance to form a new government, but it was unable to do so principally because of fears from other members of the group that Tan Malaka would try to replace Sukarno. Sukarno, with the support 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. ...

(KNIP), then asked Sjahrir to form a new cabinet. The KNIP asked Sjahrir to form a cabinet including a wider range of opinion. Sjahrir agreed on the condition he would have the greater say in the choice of members. Kahin (1952) p176

Composition

Ten of the members of the previous cabinet served in the new cabinet. It contained members from a range of political parties, but Sjahrir's group was still dominant.Kahin (1952) pp. 176-177

Changes

Minister of Justice Soewandi resigned on 22 June 1946 and four days later Minister of Agriculture and Supplies Rasad lost his job when the ministry he headed was merged into the Ministry of Trade and Industry, which later became the Ministry of Welfare. Darmawan Mangoenkoesoemo was appointed Minister of Welfare and Saksono as Junior Minister of Welfare.Simanjuntak (2003) pp. 31-32

The end of the cabinet

The second Sjahrir cabinet fell because of the kidnapping of Sjahrir and Darmawan Mangoenkoesoemo on 27 June 1946 by soldiers commanded by General Sudarsono. Like other opposition forces, they believed the government had betrayed the ideal of total independence by negotiating with the Dutch and conceding ''de facto'' Dutch control over parts of Indonesia. The rest of the cabinet held a meeting chaired by Amir Sjarifuddin and proposed transferring all powers to Sukarno. The president took control of the government by a decree issued on 28 June. This decree returned Indonesia to a presidential system and dissolved the cabinet.Simanjuntak (2003) p32Kahin (1952) pp. 188-189Ricklefs (1982) p211

References

* 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 Indonesian National Revolution 1946 establishments in Indonesia 1946 disestablishments in Indonesia Cabinets established in 1946 Cabinets disestablished in 1946