Sukarno

Sukarno came from a prominent Javanese family. In 1927, at the age of 26, he founded the Partai Nasional Indonesia. This political organization was looking to establish an independent Indonesian Republic.

‘We, the people of Indonesia, hereby declare the independence of Indonesia.’ It was around 10 a.m. on 17 August 1945, just two days after World War Two in Asia and the Japanese occupation came to an end. With these words, spoken by the nationalist leader Sukarno, Indonesia became an independent country, separate from the Netherlands.

Hundreds of people greeted his words with cries of ‘Merdeka’ (Freedom). The next day, Sukarno was appointed president of the Republic of Indonesia, with Mohammad Hatta as his vice president.

From Jakarta, news of the declaration of independence took days and even weeks to spread throughout the population. Large parts of the archipelago readily embraced the idea of a free Indonesia. But it would take another four and a half years of conflict to finally decide the country’s future.

On 2 November 1949, the Netherlands and Indonesia reached an agreement on how independence was to be achieved. On 27 December, 1949, after four and a half years of conflict, the Netherlands handed over sovereignty to the Republic of Indonesia. Sukarno returned to the capital Jakarta on 28 December after years of enforced absence to be welcomed by ecstatic crowds.