Biography of Ir.

Soekarno the Hero of the Proclamation

Title Biography of Ir. Soekarno

Soekarno, who is fondly called Bung Karno, was born in
Blitar on June 6, 1901. He is the son of a public school teacher,
Raden Soekami and a Balinese woman of noble blood, Ida Ayu
Rai. As a priyayi son who was indeed intelligent, Soekarno was
able to get a higher education and graduated from the Higher
Technical School in Bandung (now ITB) in 1925. As an
ORIENTATION engineering student, Soekarno was quite intelligent. However, the
ideas of nationalism seem to have captivated him. Three months
after graduating, in 1926, the man who was known as an
accomplished orator published his political ideas in the mass
media in an article entitled "Nationalism, Islam, and Marxism".
This paper emphasizes the idea of inter-group unity which later
marked his political thinking throughout his career.
EVENTS & The political struggle for independence continued with the
PROBLEMS formation of the Indonesian National Party (PNI) in 1927.
Soekarno adopted a non-cooperative attitude with the Dutch
which led to him being detained several times. In 1929 he was
detained by the Dutch in the Sukamiskin prison, Bandung, for his
political activities, but was released two years later. He was
detained again in 1933, exiled to Ende, then to Bengkulu, until he
was released by the Japanese in 1942. During the Japanese
occupation, Sukarno had a greater opportunity to promote
Indonesia's national ideals of cooperating with the Japanese
against the Allies. This attitude of wanting to cooperate with
Japan inevitably drew strong criticism from various "hardliners"
 who wanted a non-cooperative attitude with Japan.

On August 17, 1945, shortly after Japan surrendered to the

Allies, at the urging of the youth activists who had kidnapped
Soekarno to Rengas Dengklok, Soekarno and Hatta proclaimed
Indonesia's independence. A day later Soekarno-Hatta was
appointed the first president and vice president of Indonesia. They
soon became involved in the struggle against re-occupation by the
Dutch. At that time Soekarno-Hatta was exiled back to Parapat
and Bangka. However, when the Dutch officially recognized
Indonesian sovereignty in 1949, Sukarno's position as president
was restored.

When the parliamentary system of government proved

ineffective, Sukarno in late 1956 called for the dissolution of all
political parties. He then formed Guided Democracy in 1959, and
the following year dissolved the elected parliament. Soekarno
tried to implement his idea of the three pillars of national strength,
namely Nasakom (Nationalist, Religious, and Communist).
However, the condition of the domestic economic and political
crisis continues to get worse.

In the field of foreign policy, Soekarno was suspicious of the

US and Western powers. To balance the power of the West, he
played the role of leader of the new countries against colonial and
"neocolonial" powers. He managed to "force" the Dutch to
surrender West Irian (then in 1963 it was called Irian Jaya, now
Papua). Soekarno declared a "confrontation" with the Federation
of Malaysia which was just formed in 1963. In 1965 Indonesia
left the United Nations and Soekarno became increasingly active
as a figure in the "new emerging forces" countries. His great
charisma influenced not only the Indonesian people, but also the
newly independent nations of Asia-Africa. He is also known as
one of the most prominent leaders of the Non-aligned countries.

Indonesia's political situation culminated with an abortive

power struggle on September 30, 1965. This event then led to a
massacre, the dissolution of the Communist Party, and the ousting
of Sukarno in the aftermath.

Military leader Major General Suharto asked Sukarno to

relinquish his effective powers through Supersemar in March
1966. Suharto later became president replacing Sukarno in 1968.
Until Soekarno's death in Jakarta on June 21, 1970, he was still
under house arrest. However, the government awarded him the
Hero of the Proclamation.
REORIENTATION As the Founding Father or the Father of the Indonesian
Nation, Bung Karno has led the Indonesian nation to
independence. With a selfless struggle, Bung Karno has built an
order of justice that will prosper the Indonesian people and has
 succeeded in equating Indonesia with other countries. Hopefully
what he does can inspire the people of Indonesia towards a more
glorious future.

Nama : EKKY NASTITI DESYANTI

Kelas : XI OTKP