Soemanang Soerjowinoto ( EYD: Sumanang Suryowinoto, 1 May 1908 – 13 June 1988) was an Indonesian journalist, politician, and banker. Born in Yogyakarta, Soemanang entered journalism after working in law for some time, founding his first newspaper in 1937. He was one of the co-founders of the Antara news agency and he was a chief editor of the ''

Pemandangan ''Pemandangan'' was a daily Indonesian language newspaper published in the Dutch East Indies (or later Indonesia) between 1933 and 1958. It was one of the few local newspapers which was initially allowed to operate during the Japanese occupation o ...

'' newspaper during the

Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies The Empire of Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) during World War II from March 1942 until after the end of the war in September 1945. It was one of the most crucial and important periods in modern Indonesian history. In May ...

. After Indonesia's independence, he founded the '' Nasional'' newspaper, became the first chairman of the

Indonesian Journalists Association The Indonesian Journalists Association ( id, Persatuan Wartawan Indonesia), here inafter known as PWI, is the first professional journalist organization in Indonesia. PWI was established on 9 February 1946 in Surakarta to coincide with National Pr ...

, and joined 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. ...

, becoming a senator in 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 ...

and later Minister of Economic Affairs under

Wilopo Wilopo ( ; 21 October 1909 – 1 June 1981) was an Indonesian politician and lawyer of the Indonesian National Party (PNI), who served as the seventh prime minister of Indonesia from his appointment in April 1952 until his resignation in June 1 ...

's prime ministership. Following this political career, Soemanang served as directors in two banks before becoming an executive director at the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

Early life and education

Soemanang was born in

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta (; jv, ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ ; pey, Jogjakarta) is the capital city of Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, ...

, then part of 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 ...

, on 1 May 1908. He was a descendant of the

Pakualaman The Duchy of Pakualaman ( jv, ꦏꦢꦶꦥꦠꦺꦤ꧀ꦦꦏꦸꦮꦭꦩ꧀ꦩꦤ꧀, Kadipatèn Pakualaman; also written Paku Alaman; Dutch-spelling: Pakoe-alaman) is a minor Javanese princely state within the Sultanate of Yogyakarta.} It was ...

noble family, and his father was a mid-ranking official in the

Yogyakarta Sultanate The Sultanate of Yogyakarta ( jv, ꦏꦱꦸꦭ꧀ꦠꦤ꧀ꦤꦤ꧀ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦡꦲꦢꦶꦤꦶꦔꦿꦠ꧀, Kasultanan Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat ; ) is a Javanese monarchy in Yogyakarta Special Region, in the Republic o ...

. He studied at the ''Rechts-Hogeschool'' (Law High School) in

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

, specializing in socioeconomic affairs.

Career

Dutch East Indies era

Under the Dutch administration, Soemanang worked as a civil servant for the

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. ...

''landraad''. He also worked for the Japanese Consulate in Batavia between 1936 and 1940, where he was a translator. He then became the legal adviser for the ''

Tjahaja Timoer ''Tjahaja Timoer'' (Indonesian: Light of the East, EYD: ''Cahaya Timur'') was a Malay-language Peranakan newspaper printed in Malang, Dutch East Indies, from 1907 to 1942. History was founded in January 1907 in Malang, at around the same time ...

'' newspaper. In 1937, Soemanang (who had entered politics and joined the Gerindo political party) founded a weekly publication in

Bogor Bogor ( su, , nl, Buitenzorg) is a city in the West Java province, Indonesia. Located around south of the national capital of Jakarta, Bogor is the 6th largest city in the Jakarta metropolitan area and the 14th overall nationwide. He later proposed the founding of a national news agency. Alongside other young politically active journalists such as

Sanusi Pane Sanusi Pane (14 November 1905 – 2 January 1968) was an Indonesian writer, journalist, and historian. He was highly active in literary media, sitting on the editorial boards of several publications. He has also been described as the most import ...

and

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 ...

, they founded the Antara news agency which derived its name from ''Perantaraan''. Soemanang became the agency's first chief editor. The following year, he left Antara and became the head of the school replacing

Amir Sjarifuddin Amir Sjarifuddin Harahap ( EVO: Amir Sjarifoeddin Harahap; 27 April 1907 – 19 December 1948) was an Indonesian politician and journalist who served as the second prime minister of Indonesia from 1947 until 1948. A major leader of the lef ...

. He continued to work in journalism, becoming the chief editor of the ''

'' newspaper in 1940. Sumanang participated in the First Indonesian Language Congress in

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 ...

on 25 June 1938, which aimed to standardize the Indonesian language - then recently declared as the national language following the 1928

Youth Pledge The Youth Pledge ( id, Sumpah Pemuda) was a declaration made on 28 October 1928 by young Indonesian nationalists in the Second Youth Congress (). They proclaimed three ideas: one motherland, one nation and one language.Ricklefs (1982) p177 Back ...

. Sumanang had offered to gather influential businesspeople and scholars to the congress after a spontaneous request by fellow journalist Soedarjo Tjokrosisworo.

Japanese occupation

During the

, Soemanang worked in the Japanese-founded ''

Asia Raya ''Asia Raya'' (also spelled ''Asia-Raja''; 'Grand Asia') was a newspaper published in the Dutch East Indies (modern day Indonesia) during the Japanese occupation. Background When the Japanese Empire occupied the Dutch East Indies in 1942, they ...

'' newspaper and later headed the press department of the labor organization . During this period, he had been arrested due to a photo published in ''Pemandangan'' showing the Japanese Emperor

Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

obscured by the

Japanese flag The national flag of Japan is a rectangular white banner bearing a crimson-red circle at its center. This flag is officially called the , but is more commonly known in Japan as the . It embodies the country's sobriquet: the Land of the Rising S ...

. Another incident close to the end of the war saw Soemanang arrested for another image of Hirohito stained by red ink from the flag, and resulted in the Japanese authorities forcing ''Pemandangan'' to be published as ''Pembangoenan''.

Post-independence

Shortly after the

proclamation of Indonesian independence The Proclamation of Indonesian Independence ( id, Proklamasi Kemerdekaan Indonesia, or simply ''Proklamasi'') was read at 10:00 on Friday, 17 August 1945 in Jakarta. The declaration marked the start of the diplomatic and armed resistance of th ...

, Sumanang co-founded the National Press Company (''Badan Usaha Penerbitan Nasional''). In 1946, the

was founded, and Soemanang was elected as its first chairman. He further founded the daily newspaper ''Nasional'' (today ''

Bernas ''Bernas'' is an online-only newspaper, formerly a daily newspaper, based in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It was one of the first newspapers founded after Indonesian independence. History ''Bernas'' was founded on 15 September 1946 as ''Harian Umum N ...

'') in Yogyakarta in November 1946, in addition to the magazines ''Wanita Indonesia'' and ''Revue Indonesia'', and Javanese-language pamphlet ''Biwara''. Soemanang had also joined 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 ...

, where he became the chair of its economic department in 1946. He was a member of the

, and he was later appointed as a representative of the Republic of Indonesia to the

Senate of the United States of Indonesia The Senate of the United States of Indonesia was the upper chamber of the Parliament of the United States of Indonesia which, along with the People's Representative Council of the United States of Indonesia—the lower chamber—comprised the legi ...

, representing the Republic, in 1950, though the

was defederalized six months after his appointment and Soemanang became a member of the

Provisional People's Representative Council The Provisional People's Representative Council ( id, Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Sementara) was the first Indonesian legislature under the Provisional Constitution of 1950. The council was formed after the transition of Indonesia to a unitary state ...

instead. He resigned on 13 March 1954. Soemanang was appointed as the Minister of Economic Affairs in the

Wilopo Cabinet The Wilopo Cabinet was an Indonesia, Indonesian cabinet that served from 1 April 1952 until 3 June 1953. Composition Cabinet Leadership *List of Prime Ministers of Indonesia, Prime Minister: Wilopo (Indonesian National Party – PNI) *Deputy Pr ...

in April 1952. One of his policies was to return the oil wells in

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 ...

back to the control of

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...

, which faced fierce criticism from the parliament and he withdrew this decision. Additionally, alongside Interior Minister

Mohammad Roem Mohammad Roem (; May 16, 1908 – September 24, 1983) was a diplomat and one of Indonesia's leaders in the Indonesian war for independence. During the Sukarno presidency, he served as Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and later Min ...

, Soemanang ordered the issuance of 50 million identity cards for registry purposes. After his time as minister, Soemanang served as president director in the National Industrial Bank and the Indonesian Development Bank. He also served as an executive director in the

for some time, representing Indonesia,

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

and

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. In 1979, he returned to the journalistic world, when he founded the short-lived magazines ''Sari Pers'' and ''Zaman'' in cooperation with the ''

Tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

'' group. He died in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

on 13 June 1988. His grave is located in Yogyakarta.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Soemanang Soerjowinoto 1908 births 1988 deaths 20th-century journalists Government ministers of Indonesia Indonesian collaborators with Imperial Japan Indonesian journalists Indonesian National Party politicians Indonesian newspaper editors Members of Senate of the United States of Indonesia Members of the People's Representative Council, 1950 Newspaper editors from the Dutch East Indies Pemandangan people People from Yogyakarta