Police General Drs. Widodo Budidarmo (1 September 1927 – 5 May 2017) was the

Chief of the Indonesian National Police The Chief of the Indonesian National Police, commonly known as the National Police Chief, is the official who heads the Indonesian National Police (Polri). Since it was first formed, this position has experienced several changes in hierarchy and ...

(Kapolri) from 1974 to 1978, being the first non-Muslim National Police Chief.

Profile

The eldest child of a sugar factory cashier, Widodo, was born in Kapaskamprung Village, east of

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 ...

, on 1 September 1927. Widodo received his general education at a ''

Hollandsch-Inlandsche School Hollandsch-Inlandsche School (HIS) (Dutch school for natives) was a school during the Dutch colonial era in Indonesia. The school, was first established in 1914, following with the enactment of the Dutch Ethical Policy The Dutch Ethical Polic ...

'' from 1934 to 1941, then continued to a Technical School from 1942 to 1946. During his high school education, he participated in the Indonesian War for Independence in

East Java East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean bord ...

, as part of a Student's Brigade. Widodo then entered the police force, and studied at the School of Police Science until he graduated in 1955. After that, he served as the Head of the Police Organization Division in

Purwakarta Purwakarta (Dutch: Poerwakarta) is a district and town in West Java, Indonesia which serves as the regency seat of the Purwakarta Regency. It had a population of 165,447 at the 2010 Census,. rising to 179,233 at the 2020 Census. History Purwakar ...

for three years, from 1956 to 1959 and participated in Operations against the

Darul Islam rebellion The Darul Islam rebellion was a war waged between 1949 and 1962 by the Islamic State of Indonesia, commonly known as Darul Islam, to establish an Islamic state in Indonesia. The rebellion began when Sekarmadji Maridjan Kartosuwirjo, a former Ind ...

West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...

. In early 1960, he went to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to study at the

US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...

Officers Candidate School, and completed in 1960. Returning from the US, Widodo served as Head of the Greater Jakarta Police Operations Division (1960) and became heads of several division, becoming Commander of the Air and Water Corps (1964), Regional Commander of Police II

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 ...

(1967), and Head of Regional Police VII Metro Jaya from 1970 to 1974. Widodo was responsible for direct security operations during 1971 general election 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 ...

, after the election he secured the MPR-RI General Assembly which took place in Jakarta. Widodo was appointed a Member of the MPR-RI. After serving as Chief of the Jakarta Police, on 25 June 1974, Widodo was appointed by President

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 ...

as National Police Chief. He served as Chief of the National Police from 1974 to 1978. He was also chosen as Vice President of

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

in 1976. As police chief Widodo Budidarmo established a Joint Office of 3 Agencies, the

Indonesian National Police '' , mottotranslated = (Serving the Nation) , formed = , preceding1 = , dissolved = , superseding = , employees = 440,000 (2020) , volunteers = , budget = , nongovernment ...

, the DKI Jakarta Regional Government and Perum AK Jasa Raharja, under the jurisdiction of

Polda Metro Jaya The Greater Jakarta Metropolitan Region of the Indonesian National Police ( id, Kepolisian Negara Republik Indonesia Daerah Metropolitan Jakarta Raya), known locally as Polda Metro Jaya is the regional level of the Indonesian National Police whi ...

. The joint program operated in managing motor vehicle documents, such as STNK and BPKB. During his time as chief, the Government issued Law no. 9 concerning Narcotics, dated 26 July 1976 and a Special Decree of the National Police Chief was issued regarding Satama Satwa to support the operational steps of the

(1977).

Personal life

On 4 June 1955, Widodo married Darmiati Poeger and had three children: Martini Indah, Agus Aditono and Destina Lestari. Widodo died at the age of 89, Friday morning on 5 May 2017 at 2.30 WIB at Medistra Hospital. He was buried at

Kalibata Heroes Cemetery The National Main Heroes Cemetery in Kalibata ( id, Taman Makam Pahlawan Nasional Utama, Kalibata, colloquially known as Kalibata Heroes Cemetery ( id, Taman Makam Pahlawan Kalibata, or ''TMP Kalibata'') is a military cemetery in Kalibata, South ...

South Jakarta South Jakarta ( id, Jakarta Selatan; bew, Jakarte Beludik ), colloquially known as ''Jaksel'', is one of the five administrative cities which form the Special Capital Region of Jakarta, Indonesia. South Jakarta is not self-governed and does not h ...

References

{{reflist 1927 births 2017 deaths Indonesian police officers People from Surabaya