Achmad Soebardjo Djojoadisoerjo (EYD: Ahmad Subarjo Joyoadisuryo; 23 March 1896 – 15 December 1978) was an Indonesian diplomat, lawyer, and statesman. He served as the first foreign minister of Indonesia in 1945 shortly after the proclamation of Indonesian independence, and again in 1951–1952 within the Soekiman Cabinet.
Born in Karawang into an aristocratic family, Soebardjo began studying at Leiden University in the Netherlands in 1919. He spent over ten years in the Netherlands and in Europe, being active in Indonesian nationalist activism there. He returned to Indonesia in 1934, working as a lawyer and building connections to the Japanese military following a one-year stay in Japan. He would join the military occupation government of Japan in Indonesia after its invasion in 1942. In 1945, he was part of the Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence, and took part in the drafting of the Constitution of Indonesia. Following Japan's surrender, Soebardjo played a key role in the leadup to the proclamation of Indonesian independence.
Due to his leadership over Japanese-appointed officials, Soebardjo held significant influence in the newly formed government of Indonesia and was added to the Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence. He was appointed foreign minister in its first cabinet formed in September 1945. Soebardjo's two-month tenure was focused on the actual establishment of the foreign ministry and the recruitment of its first staff. His influence waned due to the increasing prominence of Sutan Sjahrir, who became prime minister and foreign minister in November 1945. Soebardjo would join an opposition movement against Sjahrir, culminating in a failed coup attempt in 1946 which caused his imprisonment for much of the rest of the revolutionary period.
Soebardjo was reappointed as foreign minister in the Soekiman Cabinet in 1951, and during this period he signed the Treaty of San Francisco and negotiated aid with the United States. After approving the terms of aid under the Mutual Security Act without prior cabinet knowledge, Soebardjo came under heavy political pressure and resigned in February 1952, the cabinet collapsing shortly after. He continued to work as an advisor to the foreign ministry, and between 1957 and 1961 he was Indonesia's Ambassador to Switzerland and its chief delegate to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Continuing to work for the foreign ministry until 1968, he also joined the Supreme Advisory Council and lectured history at the University of Indonesia for a time. He died in 1978 and was made a National Hero of Indonesia in 2009.
Early life Achmad Soebardjo was born Abdul Manaf in Teluk Jambe, Karawang Regency, West Java, on 23 March 1896. He was the youngest of four children. His father, Teuku Muhammad Yusuf, descended from Acehnese aristocracy in Pidie and worked as a police officer in Teluk Jambe. His mother Wardinah was of Javanese–Bugis descent, with Wardinah's father being a camat (district head) in Cirebon. Manaf's name was changed to Achmad Soebardjo during his childhood – Soebardjo originating from a suggestion by his father's friend while Achmad was added by his grandfather. Soebardjo later added "Djojoadisoerjo" as a surname, in a 1977 interview claiming that he heard a voice telling him to do so while urinating during his imprisonment after the 3 July affair in 1946.
He began his studies at the Europeesche Lagere School (ELS) of Batavia, a mixed school attended by Dutch, Chinese, Arab, and Native Indonesians. According to Soebardjo, his Dutch principal at ELS considered Native Indonesians to be mentally inferior and "only fit for unskilled labor", which motivated Soebardjo to pursue higher education and pushed him towards nationalism. After ELS, he went to a Hogere Burgerschool (middle school) from which he graduated in 1917. He began to participate in the burgeoning Indonesian nationalist movement after 1917, joining the youth organization Jong Java (then named Tri Koro Dharmo) before departing for the Netherlands to study law at Leiden University in 1919.
Student activism
Soebardjo completed his studies at Leiden in 1922 and received a bachelor's degree, and during this time he had chaired the Indische Vereeniging (Indies' Association, later Perhimpunan Indonesia) student association between 1919 and 1921. He pushed for the association to adopt the red and white flag as a symbol. He briefly returned to Indonesia in 1922, but returned to Leiden that same year to pursue a master's degree, later commenting that "his grandfather was embarrassed to have [Soebardjo] without a title". He was more politically active in his second period in the Netherlands, and frequently travelled across Europe including to Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom, and France.
In February 1927, Soebardjo took part in the League Against Imperialism and Colonial Oppression's founding congress in Brussels. Aside from Perhimpunan Indonesia, he also represented the Cairo branch of the Jamiat Kheir. While other Indonesian delegates returned to the Netherlands after the congress, Soebardjo moved to Berlin for a time and befriended the Indian revolutionary Virendranath Chattopadhyaya. While Soebardjo was in Berlin, Indonesian student leaders in the Netherlands such as Mohammad Hatta and Ali Sastroamidjojo faced widespread arrests. Soebardjo, who often used his birth name Abdul Manaf in registrations, evaded capture. He would briefly take over leadership of Perhimpunan Indonesia during this time, and attended another congress of the League in mid-1927. In November 1927, Soebardjo also travelled to Moscow to attend the tenth anniversary of the Soviet Union, which he received an invitation to attend. During his visit in Moscow, he met Shakib Arslan, Georgy Chicherin, and Alexandra Kollontai.
He had returned to Indonesia at some point after over ten years of studies in Europe as he was unable to complete his degree, being labelled as a "dangerous communist" by the Dutch judiciary. Soebardjo was eventually allowed to return to Leiden after an influential family member intervened. He graduated from Leiden with a Meester in de rechten (Mr.) title in 1933, and returned to Indonesia again in April 1934.
Colonial period
Upon his return to Indonesia, Soebardjo was appointed as a lawyer at the colonial court in Surabaya after the Dutch East Indies government received assurances that he would not take part in politics. Initially, he worked at the law office of Sastromoeljono before joining the law office of Iskaq Tjokrohadisurjo, and by 1935 the firm had offices in Kediri and Banjarmasin. As a lawyer, one of Soebardjo's cases involved defending a newly published nationalist magazine, Soeara Madoera, which was censured in 1934 after calling for armed resistance against the colonial government. He separated from Iskaq in 1935 and founded another firm in Malang, but the firm was unsuccessful.
Throughout most of 1936, Soebardjo worked a stint as a correspondent for the Semarang-based newspaper Matahari and he stayed for twelve months in Japan. During his stay there, he was introduced to Japanese military officials especially that of the Imperial Japanese Navy by Raden Soedjono, a relative who was professor of Malay at Tokyo University and a fellow Leiden alumni. In Soebardjo's later recollections, he wrote of his awestruck reaction to the modern development of Tokyo. While there, he would also lead a delegation of Indonesian nationalists from Parindra as a guide.
Upon his return from Japan, Soebardjo continued practicing as a lawyer with his office in Bandung, and in late 1936 he was honorably discharged from the Surabaya court at his request to move to the colonial Supreme Court. Aside from his lawyer work, Soebardjo also wrote for the Dutch language Kritick en Opbouw magazine in Bandung, and worked for a time in the colonial government's economic affairs department. He continued to maintain contact with Japan as the Pacific War approached, and by September 1941 he was working with Japanese spy Shigetada Nishijima to form a clandestine group intended to sabotage Dutch defence efforts against a Japanese invasion.
Following the Japanese invasion in 1942, Soebardjo joined a General Advisory Office (Kantor Penasihat Oemoem) of the Japanese military occupation government which had been founded by Mohammad Hatta. Within the office, Soebardjo had the position of chief of the research section. He also lectured at the Japan-founded Asrama Angkatan Baroe, a training center for nationalist youths. In late 1942, however, his pre-war communist sympathies resulted in his imprisonment by the Kempeitai military police. He would be released in mid-1943, and was hired by the Japanese Navy's liaison office led by Rear Admiral Tadashi Maeda where he worked with Nishijima.
Revolution era Leadup to the proclamation
By 1945, Japanese reversals in the war had led its government to move to enlist increased Indonesian support through allowing more nationalist activities and promising independence. Soebardjo was appointed to the Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence (BPUPK), and within it he became a member of the nine-man subcommittee (Panitia Sembilan) tasked with initial drafts for the Constitution of Indonesia. In his autobiography, Soebardjo claimed that he proposed the inclusion of national self-determination and anti-colonial messaging to the preamble of the constitution, becoming the preamble's first paragraph. Soebardjo would also join a nineteen-man committee which drafted the full constitution. Prior to BPUPK's founding, Soebardjo had been part of a seven-man group led by Soepomo which drafted a provisional constitution in 1942.
On 14 August 1945, Soebardjo was appointed as a special advisor to the Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence (PPKI). Japan surrendered the following day, and the news reached Jakarta by noon. Soebardjo along with Sukarno and Hatta received the news from Maeda that afternoon, and Nishijima noted Soebardjo's reaction: Whether Japan surrenders or not does not influence our possible independence. We have only one way to go–ahead! Hatta immediately called for a meeting of PPKI, and Soebardjo organized a meeting at 10 AM on 16 August. As news of the surrender spread among Indonesian nationalists, nationalist youths led by Wikana began pressuring Sukarno to declare independence immediately. Soebardjo arrived at Sukarno's house to find a heated debate between Wikana's group and Sukarno. The group stormed off after Sukarno and Hatta (who arrived later) refused to immediately proclaim independence.
At 4 AM on 16 August, the nationalist youths organized a kidnapping of Sukarno and Hatta, bringing them to a PETA militia base in Rengasdengklok, Karawang. In the morning, Soebardjo and Maeda learned of the two's disappearance, with Nishijima eventually learning of the two's whereabouts. Soebardjo departed for Rengasdengklok and recovered Sukarno and Hatta by evening. According to Soebardjo's autobiography, he made a personal guarantee to a PETA officer that the proclamation would be done by noon on 17 August at the latest. Once in Jakarta, the three met with the summoned PPKI members and proceeded to draft a proclamation text along with Maeda, Nishijima, and two other Japanese military staff throughout midnight. It was read by Sukarno at 10 AM that day in a simple ceremony. Soebardjo did not attend the ceremony, choosing instead to sleep and telling envoys sent to pick him up to proceed without him.
PPKI and ministership