Siti Oetari Tjokroaminoto (1905–1986), ( EYD: Siti Utari Cokroaminoto) was the daughter of H.O.S. Tjokroaminoto and was briefly married to

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 ...

, first president 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 Guine ...

as his first wife.

Biography

Early life

Siti Oetari was born in 1905 in Ponorogo city,

Ponorogo Regency Ponorogo Regency ( id, Kabupaten Ponorogo; jv, ꦑꦧꦸꦥꦠꦺꦤ꧀ꦦꦤꦫꦒ, translit=Kabupatèn Pånårågå) is a Regencies of Indonesia, regency (''kabupaten'') of East Java, Indonesia. It is considered the birthplace of Reog, Reog ...

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 ...

, the eldest child of

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 ...

leader H.O.S. Tjokroaminoto and his wife Raden Ajeng Soeharsikin. Tjokroaminoto was studying in

Surabaya Surabaya ( jv, ꦱꦸꦫꦧꦪ or jv, ꦯꦹꦫꦨꦪ; ; ) is the capital city of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of East Java and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. L ...

at the time of her birth, and although he did visit his wife and child when he could, it was only in 1907 that he was able to bring them to live with him. In 1912 her brother Harsono Tjokroaminoto was born, who would later be an independence activist, politician and ambassador.

Marriage to Sukarno

, the future independence fighter and first president of

, was a student boarding in Tjokroaminoto's house in Surabaya during the late 1910s. He became quite close to Tjokroaminoto, and was treated as his foster son and protégé. It was in 1921 that Sukarno, then 20 years old, married Siti Oetari. That same year, he graduated from the Hogere Burgerschool in Surabaya and soon he and Oetari relocated to

Bandung Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, making it the fourth most ...

so he could enroll in the

Technische Hoogeschool te Bandoeng The Bandung Institute of Technology ( id, Institut Teknologi Bandung, abbreviated as ITB) is a national research university located in Bandung, Indonesia. Since its establishment in 1920, ITB has been consistently recognized as Indonesia's premier ...

. However, according to Sukarno's autobiography, their marriage was a so-called "hanging marriage" which was never consummated because of their young age. While they were living in

, he became enamored of their landlady, Inggit Garnasih. Therefore, he asked Oetari for a divorce and returned to Surabaya to settle things with Tjokroaminoto. Shortly thereafter he remarried to Inggit.

Siti Oetari after Sukarno

Oetari eventually remarried in 1924 to a man named Sigit Bachroensalam. They remained married until Sigit died in 1981. Oetari herself died in 1986 at age 81.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oetari, Siti 1905 births 1986 deaths Javanese people Tjokroaminoto family People from Ponorogo Regency Indonesian Muslims