Achmad Soebardjo Djojoadisoerjo (23 March 1896 – 15 December 1978) was a diplomat, one 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 ...

founding father The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...

s, and an Indonesian national hero. He was the first

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

. In 1933, he received the degree '' Meester in de Rechten'' from

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Early life

Achmad Soebardjo was born in Teluk Jambe,

Karawang Regency Karawang Regency is a regency ''(kabupaten)'' of West Java, Indonesia. The town of Karawang is its administrative centre. The regency covers an area of 1,753.27 km2 and had a population of 2,127,791 people at the 2010 Census, which grew to 2, ...

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 ...

, on 23 March 1896. His father was Teuku Muhammad Yusuf, an Acehnese patrician from

Pidie Pidie Regency (also known as: Pidie, Pědir; "king of"; id, Kabupaten Pidie) is a regency of Aceh Special region, in Indonesia. It is located in the north of the island of Sumatra, in Western Indonesia, bordered by the Malacca Strait and Pidie Jay ...

. His paternal grandfather was an

ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...

and his father was the chief of police in Teluk Jambe, Karawang. His mother was Wardinah. She was of Javanese- Buginese descent, from ''Camat'' in Telukagung,

Cirebon Cirebon (, formerly rendered Cheribon or Chirebon in English) is a port city on the northern coast of the Indonesian island of Java. It is the only coastal city of West Java, located about 40 km west of the provincial border with Central Java ...

. Initially, his father gave him the name Teuku Abdul Manaf, but his mother gave him the name Achmad Subardjo. Djojoadisoerjo was added by himself after he was arrested and imprisoned in

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

Prison because of his involvement with the "

July 3, 1946 Incident The 3 July Affair in 1946 was a political upheaval in the then newly formed Republic of Indonesia. The Prime Minister, Sutan Sjahrir, was kidnapped by factions within the military opposing the Republic’s negotiations with the Dutch during the ...

". He studied at Hogere Burgerschool

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 ...

in 1917. He continued to

, Netherlands and obtained the degree '' Meester in de Rechten'' title in the field of law in 1933.

Independence Struggle

As a student, he was active in the fight for

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 t ...

through several organizations such as

Jong Java , was a Dutch East Indies youth organization founded on March 7, 1915 by at the STOVIA building under the name Tri Koro Dharmo ('Three Noble Goals'). It was founded in response to the perceived elitism of the Budi Utomo movement by many young ...

and the Indonesian Students Association in the Netherlands, the

Perhimpoenan Indonesia The Perhimpoenan Indonesia (PI) (Eng: Indonesian Association; Dutch: Indonesische Vereniging) was an association for Indonesian students in the Netherlands in the first half of the twentieth century. It was established under the Dutch name ''Indis ...

. In February 1927, Soebardjo,

Mohammad Hatta Mohammad Hatta (; 12 August 1902 – 14 March 1980) was an Indonesian statesman and nationalist who served as the country's first vice president. Known as "The Proclamator", he and a number of Indonesians, including the first president of Indone ...

, and three other students represented Indonesia at the conferences of the

League against Imperialism The League against Imperialism and Colonial Oppression (french: Ligue contre l'impérialisme et l'oppression coloniale; german: Liga gegen Kolonialgreuel und Unterdrückung) was a transnational anti-imperialist organization in the interwar period. ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and later in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. At the founding congress in Brussels, Soebardjo and the others met

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

and others nationalist leaders from Asia and Africa. Soebardjo even spent a couple of months in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

working for the International Secretariat of the League against Imperialism. Upon return to Indonesia, he became a member of the

Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence The Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence ( id, Badan Penyelidik Usaha-usaha Persiapan Kemerdekaan, BPUPK; ja, 独立準備調査会, Hepburn: , Nihon-shiki / Kunrei-shiki: ), sometimes referred to as the Investigating Co ...

(BPUPK). On 19 August 1945, two days 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 ...

on 17 August 1945, Sukarno appointed Soebardjo as the

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

of the Presidential Cabinet, Indonesia's first cabinet for 4 months and immediately started the first Foreign Ministry office at his own residence in Jalan Cikini raya. Subardjo served as Minister of Foreign Affairs once again from 1951 to 1952 in Sukiman's Cabinet. In addition, he also became the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

from 1957 to 1961.

Death

Soebardjo died at the age of 82 at

Pertamina Central Hospital Pertamina Central Hospital ( id, Rumah Sakit Pusat Pertamina, abbreviated as RSPP) is a state owned hospital located in Jakarta, Indonesia. It is one of the largest and best-equipped hospitals in the country, and was opened in January 1972 as a ma ...

Kebayoran Baru Kebayoran Baru is a district ( id, kecamatan) of South Jakarta, Indonesia. The name of the district was derived from an area which was developed in the post-war period as a new suburb town of Jakarta, Kebayoran Baru. Kebayoran Baru was the last re ...

, from complications with influenza. He was buried at his vacation home in Cipayung,

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.National Hero The title of Hero is presented by various governments in recognition of acts of self-sacrifice to the state, and great achievements in combat or labor. It is originally a Soviet-type honor, and is continued by several nations including Belarus, Ru ...

Early life

Independence Struggle

Death

References