The Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence (, abbreviated as PPKI; , Hepburn: ) was a body established on 7 August 1945 to prepare for the transfer of authority from the occupying Japanese to Indonesia. It approved and promulgated the first

Constitution of Indonesia The 1945 Constitution of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (, commonly abbreviated as ''UUD 1945'' or ''UUD '45'') is the supreme law and basis for all laws of Indonesia. The constitution was written in June–August 1945, in the ...

, and appointed

Sukarno Sukarno (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 the Indonesian struggle for independenc ...

and

Mohammad Hatta Mohammad Hatta ( ; 12 August 1902 – 14 March 1980) was an Indonesian statesman, nationalist, and independence activist who served as the country's first Vice President of Indonesia, vice president as well as the third prime minister. Known as ...

as the first

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

and vice president of Indonesia, respectively.

Background

In two sessions from May to July 1945, the

Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence The Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence (, abbreviated as BPUPK; , Hepburn: , Nihon-shiki / Kunrei-shiki: ), sometimes referred to, but better known locally, as the Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Indo ...

(BPUPK) decided on Pancasila as the ideological basis of independent Indonesia, and produced a draft constitution. With the war turning against them, the Japanese, who were occupying Indonesia, decided to grant independence in order to create problems for the returning Dutch colonial authorities. The plan was that Java would become independent in early September, followed shortly by the rest of the country. On 7 August, the day after an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Lt. General

Hisaichi Terauchi Count was a '' Gensui'' (or field marshal) in the Imperial Japanese Army, commander of the Southern Expeditionary Army Group during World War II. Biography Early military career Terauchi was born in Tokyo Prefecture, and was the eldest son of ...

, commander of the Japanese Southern Area who was based in Saigon, gave permission for the formation of the Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence (PPKI). On 9 August, the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, the Japanese authorities flew future president

and BPUPK chairman Radjiman Wediodiningrat to

Da Lat Da Lat, or Dalat (; ), is the capital of Lâm Đồng Province and the largest city of the Central Highlands (Vietnam), Central Highlands region in Vietnam. The city is located above sea level on the Langbiang Plateau. Da Lat is one of the mos ...

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

for a meeting with General

, the commander of the Southern Area. He promised Indonesian independence would be granted on 24 August, and appointed Sukarno chairman of the PPKI. After delaying discussion of the extent of independent Indonesia when setting up the BPUPK, the Japanese finally clearly stated it would include the whole of the former Dutch East Indies, an idea the PPKI took over from the BPUPK. The three men flew back to Indonesia, arriving on 14 August. The Indonesian underground rejected any independence gifted by the Japanese, preferring to win it through force of arms. However, on 17 August 1945, two days after the Japanese surrender, Sukarno declared independence.

Membership

Most of the 21 committee members appointed by the Japanese belonged to the older generation. Unlike the BPUPK, whose members only came from Java, the PPKI had representatives from Eastern Indonesia (under the control of the Japanese navy) and Sumatra (under the 25th Army).

Original

The membership comprised: *

(chairman) *

(vice-chairman) *

Soepomo Soepomo ( EYD: Supomo; 22 January 1903 – 12 September 1958) was an Indonesian politician and lawyer who served as the country's first Minister of Justice from August until November 1945 and again from December 1949 until 6 September 1950. ...

(Java) * Rajiman Wediodiningrat (

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

) * Suroso (Java) * Sutardjo Kertohadikusumo (Java) * Abdul Wahid Hasyim (Java) * Ki Bagus Hadikusuma (Java) * Oto Iskandar di Nata (Java) * Abdul Kadir (Java) * Soerjohamidjojo (Java) * Poerbojo (Java) * Mohammad Amir (

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

) * Abdoel Abas (Sumatra) * Teuku Muhammad Hasan (Sumatra) *

Sam Ratulangi Gerungan Saul Samuel Jacob Ratulangi (also written as ''Ratu Langie''; 5 November 1890 – 30 June 1949), known as Sam Ratulangi, was a Minahasan teacher, journalist, politician, and National Hero of Indonesia, national hero from North Sulawesi, ...

(

Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...

) * Andi Pangerang Pettarani (Sulawesi) * A. A. Hamidhan (

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

) *

I Gusti Ketut Pudja I Gusti Ketut Pudja (19 May 1908 – 4 May 1977) was an Indonesian politician and national hero, who served as the first governor of Lesser Sunda from 1945 until 1946. He was a member of the Investigating Agency for Preparatory Work for Indone ...

(

Lesser Sunda Islands The Lesser Sunda Islands (, , ), now known as Nusa Tenggara Islands (, or "Southeast Islands"), are an archipelago in the Indonesian archipelago. Most of the Lesser Sunda Islands are located within the Wallacea region, except for the Bali pro ...

) * Johannes Latuharhary (

Maluku Islands The Maluku Islands ( ; , ) or the Moluccas ( ; ) are an archipelago in the eastern part of Indonesia. Tectonics, Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located in West ...

) * Yap Tjwan Bing ( Chinese community)

Later addition

Six additional committee members added without the approval of the Japanese authorities in Indonesia: *

Achmad Soebardjo Achmad Soebardjo Djojoadisoerjo (23 March 1896 – 15 December 1978) was a diplomat, an Indonesian national hero, and the first foreign minister of Indonesia. Early life Achmad Soebardjo was born in Teluk Jambe, Karawang Regency, West Java, on ...

(advisor) * Sayuti Melik (Java) *

Ki Hajar Dewantara Raden Mas Soewardi Soerjaningrat ( EYD: Suwardi Suryaningrat); from 1922 also known as Ki Hadjar Dewantara (EYD: Ki Hajar Dewantara), which is also written as Ki Hajar Dewantoro to reflect its Javanese pronunciation (2 May 1889 in Pakualaman ...

(Java) * R.A.A. Wiranatakoesoema ( Sunda/Java) *

Kasman Singodimedjo Kasman Singodimedjo (25 February 1904 – 25 October 1982) was an Indonesian nationalist, politician, and National Hero of Indonesia, National Hero who served as the second Attorney General's Office of Indonesia, Attorney General of Indonesia bet ...

(Java) * Iwa Koesoemasoemantri (Sunda/Java)

Actions of the PPKI

The committee met for the first time on 18 August in the building in Jakarta formerly used by the

Council of the Indies A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

. It elected Sukarno as president and Hatta as vice-president of Indonesia. It established a seven-member commission, including Sukarno, Hatta, Soepomo and

Muhammad Yamin Muhammad Yamin (24 August 1903 – 17 October 1962) was an Indonesian poet, politician, historian and national hero who played a key role in the writing of the draft preamble to the 1945 constitution. Early life and education Yamin was born ...

, to approve the constitution that had been started by the BPUPK in July and to make other changes. One significant change was the removal from the constitution preamble of the obligation for Muslims to abide by

Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

law included in the Jakarta Charter as it was felt this would alienate Christians, as well as of the other religious faiths (Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism). The changes took less than a week, and the constitution was published in the 14 February 1946 edition of ''Berita Republik Indonesia'', the government gazette. In the same meeting, the committee also decided that the president would be assisted by a national committee On August 19, the committee met again and divided Indonesia into eight

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

: West, Central and East Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku and the Lesser Sundas. In its third and last meeting, held on August 22, the PPKI decided to establish the Central Indonesian National Committee (KNIP), a state party the

Indonesian National Party The Indonesian National Party (, PNI) was the name used by several nationalist political parties in Indonesia from 1927 until 1973. The first PNI was established by future President Sukarno. After independence, the new PNI supplied a number of pri ...

(PNI) and the Badan Keamanan Rakyat (People's Security Agency) - the forerunner of the

Indonesian National Armed Forces The Indonesian National Armed Forces (; abbreviated as TNI) are the military forces of the Republic of Indonesia. It consists of the Indonesian Army, Army (''TNI-AD''), Indonesian Navy, Navy (''TNI-AL''), and Indonesian Air Force, Air Force ('' ...

. The committee was dissolved by Sukarno on 29 August and replaced by the KNIP.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * {{refend 1945 in the Dutch East Indies Indonesia in World War II Indonesian collaborators with Imperial Japan Indonesian National Revolution Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies