User:The man from Gianyar/Wilopo

Wilopo (21 October 1909 – 1 June 1981) was an Indonesian politician of the Indonesian National Party (PNI), who served as the seventh prime minister of Indonesia from his appointment in April 1952 until his resignation in August 1953. Generally considered a member of the PNI's liberal wing, Wilopo's tenure as prime minister was described as "bolder and more ambitious than any other cabinet of the post-revolutionary period."

Born to a muslim family in Purworejo, in what was then the Dutch East Indies, Wilopo attained a law degree from the Rechts Hogeschool (what is today the University of Indonesia) in 1939. He then became involved in the struggle of independence, becoming a member of the Gerindo political party in 1937. Following the proclamation of independence and the subsequent national revolution which followed, Wilopo served as Deputy Minister, and later Minister of Labor. After the end of the national revolution, Wilopo remained active in politics. In April 1952, after the fall of Soekiman Wirjosandjojo's cabinet due to a foreign policy debacle, Wilopo was chosen by President Sukarno to lead a new cabinet. For the new cabinet, Wilopo opted to form "business cabinet", with unity and a common policy orientation even at the risk of uncertain party and parliamentary support.

During his government, Indonesia oversaw important changes in the political balance. Including the split between the Masyumi Party and the Nahdlatul Ulama as well as the re-entry of the Communist Party in politics and the worsening relations between the government and the army, which culminated in a show of force by General Abdul Haris Nasution. In 1953, an incident occurred in Medan, when police attempted to evict illegal squatters, leading to a confrontation that left five people dead. In the aftermath, the cabinet decided to dissolve itself, and Wilopo returned his mandate to Sukarno. After elections were held in 1955, he was appointed the speaker of the Constitutional Assembly. An office he held for three years, until Sukarno dissolved the body in 1959. In 1968, Wilopo was appointed the Chairman of the Supreme Advisory Council. He left politics in 1978, and he died in 1981.

Childhood
Wilopo was born on 21 October 1909, in Purworejo, Central Java, in what was then the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). He came from a devout muslim family which adhered to the teachings of the kejawèn religious tradition. His father was Soedjono Soerodirjo, but he was raised by Soedjono's brother in-law, a teacher and sugar mill worker named Prawirodiharjo. Wilopo wouldn't discover his actual patrilineal lineage until he reached adulthood. When he was eight years old, Prawirodiharjo and the family moved to Loano, a small village five kilometers away from Purworejo proper. Wilopo spent most of his childhood in Loano, where he played in the rice paddies with several friends.

Education
Wilopo attended the Holland Inlandse School (HIS), as he wanted to enroll at the Opleiding School Voor Inlandsche Ambtenaren (OSVIA). After graduating from HIS, he chose to attend the Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs (MULO) in Magelang – instead of OSVIA as planned – after taking some advice from his cousin, Soediro. His education in MULO was financed by Soekadi, Prawirodiharjo's brother. In Magelang, he lived in the house of a widow, renting a room for 12.5 gulden. After graduating from MULO, he attended the Algemene Middelbare School-B (AMS-B) in Yogyakarta. In 1930, he graduated from the AMS-B, and entered the Technischeh Hoge School (what is today ITB) in Bandung. Wilopo initially wanted to become an engineer, but the damp air caused him to suffer Asthma attacks, which led to him failing to complete his studies.

Wilopo then moved to Sukabumi (where the climate was cool but not damp), planning to live with another cousin who worked at the district office. In Sukabumi, Wilopo worked at a Taman Siswa school. He worked there for 2 years, before moving to Jakarta to pursue further education in 1933. He was accepted to the Rechts Hogeschool (RHS) law school, and he spent six years in RHS. During his time in RHS, Wilopo... graduated with a law diploma in 1939.