Soekiman Wirjosandjojo (EYD: Sukiman Wiryosanjoyo; 19June 1898 – 23July 1974) was an Indonesian politician and physician who served as prime minister of Indonesia from 1951 until 1952. Additionally, Soekiman served as the first president of the Masyumi Party from 1945 to 1951.
Born into a merchant family in Surakarta, Soekiman was educated as a physician at Batavia's STOVIA medical school and Amsterdam University. Having served as chairman of the Perhimpoenan Indonesia association while in the Netherlands, he returned to Java and began participating in politics while working as a doctor. He was active within the Islamic political organization Sarekat Islam, later the Indonesian Islamic Union Party, from which he was expelled in 1933 due to a dispute. He then co-founded the Indonesian Islamic Political Party (Partii), which in 1938 became the Indonesian Islamic Party. (PII). During the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, he was active within the Pusat Tenaga Rakyat propaganda organization, and in 1945 was appointed a member of the Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence.
When Masyumi was formed as a political party in November 1945, Soekiman was elected its first chairman. He acted as opposition to various government cabinets during the Indonesian National Revolution, namely those of Prime Ministers Sutan Sjahrir and Amir Sjarifuddin, although he agreed to work with them following the Dutch military offensive of 1947. He was later appointed as Minister of Home Affairs under Mohammad Hatta's cabinet and became part of the Indonesian delegation in the Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference. In independent Indonesia, Soekiman was first replaced as Masyumi's chairman by Mohammad Natsir, and in turn, he replaced Natsir as prime minister in April 1951 by forming a coalition with the Indonesian National Party, creating the Soekiman Cabinet.
As prime minister, Soekiman nationalized Bank Indonesia and initiated a holiday bonus program for civil servants. He also arrested thousands of individuals due to a suspected coup attempt, particularly members of the Indonesian Communist Party. In foreign policy, Soekiman's tenure saw an improvement in relations with the Western Bloc and especially with the United States. However, there remained an internal dispute within Masyumi between Soekiman and Natsir, and this coupled with secretive negotiations between foreign minister Achmad Soebardjo and United States ambassador H. Merle Cochran led to the collapse of Soekiman's cabinet. He remained active within Masyumi after his premiership, until he departed from politics following the involvement of Masyumi leaders in the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the advent of Guided Democracy. He died in Yogyakarta in 1974.
Early life Soekiman was born in Sewu, today in Surakarta, on 19June 1898. He was the youngest of four children. Soekiman's father, Wirjosandjojo, was a rice merchant. Wirjosandjojo had a business relationship with a Dutch armed forces veteran, and through his help Soekiman could enroll at a Europeesche Lagere School (ELS) in Boyolali, normally reserved for Europeans and native nobility. After completing ELS and later he continued his education at the medical school STOVIA in Batavia. During his time at STOVIA, Soekiman had been active within Jong Java, which was founded by his older brother .
Graduating from STOVIA in 1923, he considered working for the colonial train company, but his father convinced him to continue his medical school at Amsterdam University and provided financial support. Also in 1923, Soekiman married Kustami, and the two had a son before Soekiman departed for the Netherlands. In Amsterdam, he studied internal medicine. He was active in the Indonesian students' organization Indonesische Vereniging during his foreign studies, serving as the organization's chairman between 1924 and 1925. Under Soekiman, the Vereniging translated its official name to Perhimpoenan Indonesia, and also renamed its magazine from Hindia Poetra ("Son of the Indies") to Indonesia Merdeka ("Independent Indonesia").
Early career Returning from the Netherlands, Soekiman moved to Yogyakarta and initially worked in a hospital run by Muhammadiyah. After two years, he left the hospital and opened a private practice in Bintaran. He was known for his skills in treating lung illnesses and would often give discounts or free treatments for poorer patients.
In 1927, Soekiman joined the Partai Sarekat Islam (PSI). Along with Sukarno, Soekiman co-founded the Association of Political Organisations of the Indonesian People (PPPKI) in an attempt to unite and coordinate the various Indonesian nationalistic political parties and organizations. However, tensions quickly emerged between PSI and other PPPKI members, as PSI was seen as putting Islam above Indonesian nationalism to the point where many PPPKI members called for PSI to be expelled from the organization, despite PSI's renaming to Partai Sarekat Islam Indonesia (PSII) in January 1930. In response to the calls, Soekiman called PPPKI an "imperialistic" organization at PSII's 1931 congress. Despite the public disagreements, Soekiman maintained a good personal relationship with secular nationalistic figures such as Mohammad Hatta. When Soekiman launched the nationalist Utusan Indonesia newspaper in 1932, he asked Hatta to become its chief editor.
Soekiman attempted to defend the rights of around 900 PSII members laid off by a colonial government-owned pawnbroking network and succeeded in lobbying for severance pay and secured priority for the employees to be rehired. However, he did not consult PSII's senior leaders such as H.O.S. Tjokroaminoto and Agus Salim before his efforts. This was used as the reason for his expulsion from the party in March 1933. Soekiman had longstanding disagreements with PSII's noncooperative stance with the colonial government, and after he was expelled he formed the Partij Politiek Islam Indonesia (PARTII) with Muhammadiyah's support. PARTII failed to garner popular support, however, and was disbanded before long. Following Tjokroaminoto's death, Soekiman briefly rejoined PSII in 1937, before leaving in 1938 and founding another political party, the Indonesian Islamic Party (PII). He took part in the founding of Majelis Islam A'la Indonesia (Indonesian Islamic Assembly, MIAI) which was intended to serve as a federation of various Islamic organizations. Along with his brother Satiman, Soekiman also initiated the formation of an Islamic higher education institute, establishing several pilot projects in 1939 and 1940 before the Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies interrupted their growth.
Japanese occupation Early on in the occupation, Soekiman became inactive in politics due to a ban on various political organizations including MIAI. Once MIAI was allowed to operate again in September 1942, Soekiman became one of its leaders along with Harsono Tjokroaminoto and , until it was once again shut down in late 1943. Aside from MIAI, he was also active within the propaganda organization Pusat Tenaga Rakyat as an appointed member.
Soekiman was later also listed as a member of the Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence (BPUPK). After the committee had drafted the Jakarta Charter, Soekiman supported Wahid Hasyim's proposal to formally establish Islam as a state religion, and require that any future elected presidents and vice presidents be Muslim. Initially, other committee members from nationalist and secular parties agreed to Hasyim's proposal. However, before the proposal could be formalized, the Japanese reformed BPUPK into the smaller Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence (PPKI). Soekiman did not become a member of this committee, and PPKI members cancelled Hasyim's proposal, allowing non-Muslims to serve as president and establishing Indonesia's lack of a formal state religion. Beyond this matter, Soekiman also discussed the legal structures of the future People's Consultative Assembly and the legal rights of citizens within the Constitution of Indonesia.
Indonesian revolution Following the proclamation of Indonesian independence on 17August 1945, Soekiman 22August was appointed as one of the members of the leadership committee of the Indonesian National Party (PNI), at that time the only permitted political party under the new government. This was not to last, as on 3November the government issued a declaration calling for the formation of other political parties. Just days later, the Indonesian Muslim Congress was held in Yogyakarta on 7November, and the Masyumi Party was founded with Soekiman elected its first chairman. Aside from Soekiman, former members of PII dominated Masyumi's first leadership committee. Despite this, however, Soekiman in a speech concluding the congress lambasted the government's decision to allow the formation of more political parties, claiming that such a move would divide the nation.
Soekiman was opposed to the formation of Sutan Sjahrir's first cabinet, which he considered to be a constitutional violation. Masyumi had declared in its founding congress that it was opposed to the emerging parliamentary system of government, as the constitution approved less than a year prior had mandated a presidential system for Indonesia. Along with Tan Malaka's Persatuan Perjuangan (PP) organization, Masyumi placed itself in opposition to Sjahrir's government until March 1946, when several PP members were arrested. Following the arrests, Masyumi's hostility to the government softened. Soekiman still criticized the formation of the Second Sjahrir Cabinet in February 1946, despite having been involved in determining its composition. On 3July 1946, Soekiman visited the presidential palace, apparently believing that President Sukarno was to make an announcement. Once he spoke with Vice President Mohammad Hatta, however, he was informed that there was an attempted coup against Sjahrir's cabinet by Mohammad Yamin and several military officers. Upon learning of the fact, he left the palace immediately, with the coup failing and its plotters arrested.
Increased Dutch military activity starting from the end of 1946 forced Sjahrir into the negotiating table, and the Linggadjati Agreement was signed on 15November 1946. Soekiman's Masyumi opposed the agreement, seeing it as too accommodating to Dutch demands, to the point where Soekiman declared his intention to overthrow Sjahrir's government by force. After the collapse of Sjahrir's third cabinet on 27June 1947, Soekiman was appointed by Sukarno as one of four formateurs (along with Amir Sjarifuddin, Adnan Kapau Gani, and ) to form a new government. Soekiman, believing that Masyumi had significant popular backing, demanded several important posts be held by Masyumi members. The other three formateurs rejected his demands, and Sukarno decided to revoke Soekiman's mandate as formateur. The remaining three formateurs organized the First Amir Sjarifuddin Cabinet. Sjarifuddin was generally hostile towards Masyumi, and thus he appointed ministers such as Wondoamiseno and Arudji Kartawinata originating from the Masyumi splinter party PSII.
The hostility between Sjarifuddin and Soekiman continued until the Dutch Operation Product in July 1947, which forced both parties to compromise and Sjarifuddin agreed to appoint several Masyumi members into his cabinet. Regardless, his cabinet collapsed following Masyumi's loss of support later on following the Renville Agreement, and Soekiman was appointed Interior Minister within the succeeding First Hatta Cabinet. Soekiman's appointment was well-received by Islamic organizations, and the Dutch even mistook Soekiman as the leader of the emerging Darul Islam movement. Soekiman later took part in the Indonesian delegation for the negotiations regarding the transfer of sovereignty in 1949.
Premiership
Cabinet formation