Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Soedjono Hoemardani (7 September 191812 March 1986) was an Indonesian military officer. Soedjono originated from

Surakarta Surakarta ( jv, ꦯꦸꦫꦏꦂꦠ), known colloquially as Solo ( jv, ꦱꦭ; ), is a city in Central Java, Indonesia. The 44 km2 (16.2 sq mi) city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoh ...

and after an early career in his father's trading business he joined the fledgling

Indonesian National Armed Forces , founded = as the ('People's Security Forces') , current_form = , disbanded = , branches = , headquarters = Cilangkap, Jakarta , website = , commander-in-chief = Joko Widodo , ...

in 1945, at the start of the

Indonesian National Revolution The Indonesian National Revolution, or the Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during Aftermath of WWII, postw ...

, as a financial officer in

Kodam IV/Diponegoro KODAM IV/Diponegoro or IV ''Military Regional Command/Diponegoro'' ( id, Komando Daerah Militer IV/Diponegoro) is a military area command (effectively a military district) of the Indonesian Army. It covers the provinces of Central Java and Speci ...

. He built up a relationship with

Suharto Suharto (; ; 8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian army officer and politician, who served as the second and the longest serving president of Indonesia. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto ...

during his time under him, and as Suharto took power as President in 1966, he was appointed as a personal assistant (

Aspri Asisten Pribadi (English: Personal assistants), better known by the acronym Aspri, were a team of advisors to Indonesian President Suharto from 1968 until 1974. The group was disbanded in the wake of the Malari incident in January 1974, though a ...

). In this capacity, Soedjono was a major player in the economic relations between Indonesia and Japan. His actions in this role generated significant controversy, which culminated in 1974 when he was a target of demonstrators during the Malari incident. After the incident, he toned down his relations with Japan publicly, though he maintained his Japanese connections until his death in 1986.

Early life

Soedjono was born in

on 7 September 1918 as the son of

Raden is a Japanese termRaden.

Semarang Semarang ( jv, ꦏꦸꦛꦯꦼꦩꦫꦁ , Pegon: سماراڠ) is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. It was a major port during the Dutch colonial era, and is still an important regional center and port today. ...

, before returning to Surakarta to work on his father's business in 1937, and he also became the treasurer of a nationalist youth organisation Indonesia Muda (Young Indonesia).

Career

After the Japanese took power in Indonesia, Soedjono joined the Japanese reserve police force (''

Keibōdan was an organization formed by the Empire of Japan in the occupied Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) during World War II. Indonesian names for the organization were ''Barisan Pembantu Polisi'' ("Auxiliary police") and '' Laskar Penjaga Kea ...

'') and became a deputy commander. During the

, he started off in 1945 as a second lieutenant in the 4th Division (today

), and became a treasurer for a regiment within it. He was later promoted to first lieutenant in 1947 and was assigned as the division's financial officer. After the war, his rank was elevated to captain in 1950, major in 1957, and

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in 1961. During this period,

Soeharto Suharto (; ; 8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian army officer and politician, who served as the second and the longest serving president of Indonesia. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto ...

was the commander of the Diponegoro division, and Soedjono was his financial officer. Soedjono also undertook a 10-month course in the

United States Army Financial Management School The United States Army Financial Management School is located in Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and has the mission of providing the United States Army with military and civilian leaders trained in financial management, and develop complementary ...

Fort Benjamin Harrison Fort Benjamin Harrison was a U.S. Army post located in suburban Lawrence Township, Marion County, Indiana, northeast of Indianapolis, between 1906 and 1991. It is named for the 23rd United States president, Benjamin Harrison. History In 1901, ...

, completing it in 1964. In mid-1966, several months following Suharto's takeover of the presidency (through the

Supersemar The Order of Eleventh March ( id, Surat Perintah Sebelas Maret), commonly referred to by its syllabic abbreviation ''Supersemar'', was a document signed by the Indonesian President Sukarno on 11 March 1966, giving army commander Lt. Gen. Suhart ...

), Soedjono was appointed as one of six military officers in Suharto's personal staff, and as one of three junior officers (under the coordination of

Alamsyah Ratu Perwiranegara Alamsjah Ratoe Perwiranegara (December 25, 1925 in Kotabumi, North Lampung, Lampung, Dutch East Indies – January 8, 1998 in Jakarta, Indonesia) was an Indonesian military general who served as State Secretary Minister, Coordinating Minister o ...

). At the time, he held the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. By September that year, he was dispatched with

Adam Malik Adam Malik Batubara (22 July 1917 – 5 September 1984), or more commonly referred to simply as Adam Malik, was an Indonesians, Indonesian politician, diplomat, and journalist, who served as the 3rd Vice President of Indonesia from 1978 until ...

's delegation to the Netherlands, the US, and Japan, and the delegation announced Indonesia's reapplication to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

while it was in New York. In a 1969 interview, Soedjono remarked that Suharto's only order for the delegation for the United Nations was to "enter". When the delegation then went to Japan, Soedjono met with influential Japanese figures lobbying for relations with Indonesia, and established himself as the intermediary between Suharto's government and the lobby. The following year, industrialist Yutaka Kubota had visited him to lobby for the resumption of the development of an aluminum plant at Asahan. Due to extensive powers they held, the personal staff was nicknamed as the "shadow government" around 1968. Suharto disbanded his personal staff due to suspicions of business interests in 1968, but the three army officers (including Soedjono) were immediately reappointed as "personal assistants" (

), and effectively nothing changed for them. With his new title, Soedjono continued engaging with Japanese investors (becoming a subject of student demonstrations in 1972 due to his involvement in the matter), lobbying for loans and investments almost exclusively outside formal diplomatic methods. He defended multiple times during interviews his role in allowing significant foreign capital control over firms operating in Indonesia, though he did help establish significant ties between some local entrepreneurs and Japanese investors. Additionally, a recommendation from Soedjono was considered essential for local entrepreneurs seeking to establish ties with Japanese companies. Soedjono was promoted to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

rank in 1969. In 1971, Soedjono, alongside

Ali Murtopo Ali Murtopo (23 September 1924 – 15 May 1984) was a prominent Indonesian general and political figure during the first half of General Suharto's New Order regime. Early life Ali Murtopo was born on 23 September 1924 in Kebumen, Central Ja ...

, backed the founding of the

Centre for Strategic and International Studies The Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a non-profit organization based in Indonesia which has served as a think tank on social, international, political and economical issues. CSIS was founded on Sept 1, 1971 by a group of ...

. He was further appointed as an armed forces representative to the

People's Consultative Assembly The People's Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat Republik Indonesia, MPR-RI) is the legislative branch in Politics of Indonesia, Indonesia's political system. It is composed of the membe ...

in 1971.

Malari incident

Soedjono and Ali Murtopo was known in the early 1970s to be in opposing factions within the military leadership against

Sumitro Sumitro, or Soemitro (13 January 1925 – 10 May 1998) was a prominent Indonesian General in the early years of General Suharto's New Order before suddenly falling from grace in January 1974 after the Malari incident. Early life Sumitro was ...

. Soedjono's well-known position as the conduit for Japanese investors became target of student protesters, who on 15 January 1974 rioted in what is today known as the Malari incident. Effigies of Soedjono and Japanese PM

Kakuei Tanaka was a Japanese politician who served in the House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives from 1947 Japanese general election, 1947 to 1990 Japanese general election, 1990, and was Prime Minister of Japan from 1972 to 1974. After ...

(who was visiting) were burned by the protesters; eventually, Aspri was disbanded, and Soedjono was reassigned as an

inspector general An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general". Australia The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory off ...

of national development in July 1974. After the incident, Soedjono's publicly visible relationship with Japanese investors diminished, though he maintained ties with his Japanese network throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

Spiritual advisor

There was a popular belief that Suharto had relied on Soedjono for spiritual advice (Alamsyah had once referred to Soedjono, in criticism, as a "

dukun A dukun is an Indonesian term for shaman. Their societal role is that of a traditional healer, spirit medium, custom and tradition experts and on occasion sorcerers and masters of black magic. In common usage the dukun is often confused with ...

"). Suharto himself denied this in his autobiography, claiming that Soedjono had more often approached him for spiritual affairs.

Death

Soedjono died on 12 March 1986 in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, due to

internal bleeding Internal bleeding (also called internal hemorrhage) is a loss of blood from a blood vessel that collects inside the body. Internal bleeding is usually not visible from the outside. It is a serious medical emergency but the extent of severity depen ...

. Before his body was transported back to Indonesia, he was visited by multiple of his Japanese colleagues (many from the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

), and his burial procession was accompanied by the Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia at the time. He was buried outside Surakarta.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* *{{cite journal , last1=Malley , first1=Michael , title=Soedjono Hoemardani and Indonesian-Japanese Relations 1966-1974 , journal=Indonesia , date=1989 , issue=48 , pages=47–64 , doi=10.2307/3351266 , issn=0019-7289, jstor=3351266, hdl=1813/53919 , hdl-access=free 1918 births 1986 deaths People from Surakarta Indonesian generals Indonesia–Japan relations Members of the People's Consultative Assembly