Abdul Haris Nasution (; 3 December 1918 – 6 September 2000) was a high-ranking Indonesian general and politician. He served in the military during the Indonesian National Revolution and remained in the military during the subsequent turmoil of the Parliamentary democracy and Guided Democracy. Following the fall of President Sukarno from power, he became the Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly under President Suharto. Born into a Batak Muslim family, in the village of Hutapungkut, Dutch East Indies, he studied teaching and enrolled at a military academy in Bandung.
He became a member of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army, but following the Japanese invasion, he joined the Defenders of the Homeland. Following the proclamation of independence, he enlisted in the fledgling Indonesian armed forces and fought during the Indonesian National Revolution. In 1946, he was appointed commander of the Siliwangi Division, the guerrilla unit operating in West Java. After the end of the national revolution, he was appointed Chief of Staff of the army, until he was suspended for his involvement in the 17 October affair. He was reappointed to the position in 1955.
On the 1st October 1965, an attempted coup occurred, later officially blamed on the Communist Party of Indonesia. Nasution's house was attacked, and his daughter was killed, but he managed to escape by scaling a wall and hiding in the Iraqi ambassador's residence. In the following political turmoil, he assisted in the rise of President Suharto and was appointed Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly. He had a falling-out with Suharto, who saw him as a rival, and he was pushed out of power in 1971. Once he was removed from positions of power, Nasution developed into a political opponent of Suharto's New Order Regime, though he and Suharto began to reconcile in the 1990s. He died on 6 September 2000 in Jakarta, after suffering a stroke and going into a coma. His body was interred at Kalibata Heroes' Cemetery.
Early life
Nasution was born on 3 December 1918 in the village of Hutapungkut, Mandailing Natal Regency, North Sumatra, into a Muslim Mandailing Batak family. He was the second child of his parents and the oldest son. His father was a trader who sold textiles, rubber, and coffee and was a member of the Sarekat Islam organisation. His very religious father wanted his son to study at a religious school, while his mother wanted him to study medicine in Batavia. However, after graduating from school in 1932, Nasution received a scholarship to study teaching at Bukitinggi. In 1935 Nasution moved to Bandung to continue his studies, where he remained for three years. His desire to be a teacher gradually faded as his interest in politics grew. He secretly bought books written by the Indonesian nationalist Sukarno and read them with his friends. Following his graduation in 1937, Nasution returned to Sumatra and taught in Bengkulu, living near the house where Sukarno lived in exile. He occasionally spoke with Sukarno and heard him give speeches. A year later Nasution moved to Tanjungraja, near Palembang, where he continued to teach, but became more and more interested in politics and the military.
In 1940, Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands and the Dutch colonial authorities established an officer reserve corps that admitted pribumi (native Indonesians). Nasution applied to join, as this was the only way to obtain military training. Along with a few other Indonesians, he was sent to the Bandung Military Academy for training. In September 1940 he was promoted to corporal, then three months later to sergeant. He subsequently became an officer in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL). In 1942 the Japanese invaded and occupied Indonesia. At the time, Nasution was in Surabaya, having been posted there to defend the port. Nasution then found his way back to Bandung and went into hiding, as he was afraid of being arrested by the Japanese. However, he later assisted the Japanese-backed PETA militias by carrying messages but did not become a member.
Indonesian National Revolution
Siliwangi Division
After Sukarno declared Indonesia's independence on 17 August 1945, Nasution joined the fledgling Indonesian Army, then known as the People's Security Army (TKR), which was fighting the Indonesian National Revolution against the Dutch. In May 1946, he was appointed Regional Commander of the Siliwangi Division, which looked after the security of West Java. In this position, Nasution developed the theory of territorial warfare which would become the future defense doctrine of the Indonesian Army. In January 1948, the Indonesian Government and the Dutch Government signed the Renville Agreement, dividing Java between areas under Dutch and Indonesian control. Because the territories occupied by the Dutch included West Java, Nasution was forced to lead the Siliwangi Division across to Central Java and into Indonesian-controlled territory.
Deputy commander
1948 would also see Nasution rise to the position of Deputy TNI Commander. Despite being only a Colonel, this appointment made Nasution the most powerful person in the TNI, second only to the popular General Sudirman. Nasution immediately went to work in his new role. In April, he assisted Sudirman in reorganising the structure of the troops. In June, at a commanders' meeting, his suggestion that TNI should fight guerrilla warfare against the Dutch was approved. Although not the Commander of the TNI, Nasution gained experience in the role of Armed Forces Commander in September 1948 with the Madiun incident. Following the takeover of the city of Madiun in East Java, by former Prime Minister Amir Syarifuddin and Musso of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). When the news reached the TNI Headquarters in Yogyakarta, a meeting was held between senior military officers.
Sudirman was anxious to avoid violence and wanted negotiations to be conducted. Sudirman then commissioned Lieutenant Colonel Suharto, to negotiate a deal with the communists. After taking his trip, Suharto returned to Nasution and Sudirman and reported that everything seemed to be peaceful. Nasution did not trust this report and with Sudirman down with an illness, Nasution was left in charge. Nasution then decided on a crackdown, sending troops to go after the communists to put down and end the rebellion. On 30 September Madiun was taken over by republican troops of the Siliwangi Division. Thousands of communist party members were killed and 36,000 were imprisoned. Amongst the executed were several leaders including Musso, who was killed on 31 October, allegedly while trying to escape from prison. Other PKI leaders such as D.N. Aidit went into exile in China.
On 19 December 1948, the Dutch launched a successful attack on Yogyakarta and occupied it. Nasution, together with the TNI and the other commanders, retreated into the countryside to fight a guerrilla war. With President Sukarno and Vice-president Mohammad Hatta in Dutch captivity, the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia (PDRI) was set up in Sumatra. In this interim government, Nasution was given the position of the Army and Territorial Commander of Java. Following Dutch recognition of Indonesia's independence, the PDRI returned its powers to Sukarno and Hatta, and Nasution returned to his position as Deputy Commander to Sudirman.
Parliamentary democracy era First term as chief of staff
In December 1949, Nasution took on his position as army chief of staff, with T. B. Simatupang replacing Sudirman as the commander of the newly dubbed TNI (Armed Forces of the Republic of Indonesia). In 1952, Nasution and Simatupang decided to adopt a policy of restructuring and reorganisation for TNI. Under this arrangement, Nasution and Simatupang hoped to create a smaller army but one that was more modern and professional. It did not take long, however, before factional interests came into play. Nasution and Simatupang, who had both been trained by the Dutch colonial government wanted to discharge the soldiers trained by the Japanese and integrate more soldiers trained by the Dutch. The Japanese-trained troops, led by Bambang Supeno, began speaking out against this policy. In adopting their policy, Nasution and Simatupang had the backing of Prime Minister Wilopo and Defense Minister Hamengkubuwono IX. However, Supeno managed to find support from among the opposition parties in the People's Representative Council (DPR). The DPR members then began making their disagreements on the restructuring of TNI known. Nasution and Simatupang were not happy to see what they perceived to be interference in military affairs by civilians. On 17 October 1952, Nasution and Simatupang mobilised their troops in a show of force. Protesting against civilian interference in military affairs, Nasution and Simatupang had their troops surround the Presidential Palace and point their tank turrets at it. Their demand to Sukarno was that the current DPR be dismissed.
For this cause, Nasution and Simatupang also mobilised civilian protesters. Sukarno came out of the Presidential Palace and convinced both soldiers and civilians to go home. Nasution and Simatupang had been defeated. Nasution and Simatupang were then questioned by Attorney General Suprapto. In December 1952, they both lost their positions in ABRI and were suspended from the service.
Second term as chief of staff
On 27 October 1955, after three years of exile, Nasution was re-appointed to his old position as Army Chief of Staff. He immediately began working on the army and its structure by adopting a threefold approach. First, he formulated a tour of duty system so that officers would be stationed around the country and gain experience. This would also result in army officers being more professional, instead of feeling personal attachment and loyalty to the province and region they came from. Nasution's second change was to centralise military training. All training methods would now be uniform, instead of regional commanders setting up their methods. Nasution's third and most important reform was to increase the army's influence and power so that it would be able to take care of itself, instead of relying on civilian decisions. Nasution did not have a problem applying the first two changes, but he would have to wait to apply the third. By 1957, President Sukarno had begun to introduce the concept of Guided Democracy, in response to his disenchantment with the Parliamentary Democracy approach which Indonesia had adopted since November 1945. In this, he found a common bond with Nasution and the army, who still harboured resentment of civilian interference with army affairs in 1952.