Hamengkubuwono IX, 9th Sri Sultan of Yogyakarta (Hanacaraka: ; 12 April 1912 – 2 October 1988), often abbreviated as HB IX, was an Indonesian politician and Javanese royal who was the second vice president of Indonesia, the ninth sultan of Yogyakarta, and the first governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta. Hamengkubuwono IX was also the chairman of the first National Scout Movement Quarter and was known as the Father of the Indonesian Scouts.
Early life and education Early life Born as Gusti Raden Mas Dorodjatun, in Sompilan, Ngasem, Yogyakarta, Hamengkubuwono IX was the ninth son of Prince Gusti Pangeran Puruboyo —later titled Hamengkubuwono VIII— with his consort, Raden Ajeng Kustilah.
When he was four, he was sent away to live with the Mulder family, a Dutch family which lived in the Gondokusuman area. While living with the Mulder family, Hamengkubuwono IX was called by the name Henkie which was taken from the name of Prince Hendrik of the Netherlands.
Education He spent his school years in Yogyakarta, starting from Frobel School (kindergarten), and continuing to the Eerste Europe Lagere School which then moved to Neutrale Europeesche Lagere School. After completing his basic education, he continued his education at Hogere Burgerschool Semarang for a year before moving to Hogere Burgerschool Bandung.
In 1930, he and his older brother, BRM – later known as Prabuningrat, after Hamengkubuwono IX's coronation – moved to the Netherlands. He started school at the Lyceum Haarlem, Netherlands. He was often called Sultan Henk when studying at the school. After graduating in 1934, Hamengkubuwono IX and his older brother moved to Leiden, entering the college Rijksuniversiteit Leiden – Leiden University today – and took up the study of Indology, study of the colonial administration in the Indies.
However, he didn't finish his education and had to return to his native land in 1939, following the start of World War II.
Return to the Indies After arriving in Batavia from the Netherlands in October 1939, Hamengkubuwono IX was picked up by his father directly at the Hotel des Indes. When an autonomous ruler was in Batavia, generally there were many agendas of activities that had to be fulfilled. One of the events attended by the royal family with Hamengkubuwono IX in Batavia was an invitation to dinner at the Palace of the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies. While preparing to attend the invitation, Hamengkubuwono IX was pinned with Kyai Jaka Piturun's keris by his father. This keris is generally passed on to the son of the ruler who is desired to become the crown prince. Therefore, this indicated that Hamengkubuwono IX would become the heir to the throne of the Sultanate of Yogyakarta.
After attending the three-day agenda in Batavia, the royal family, and Hamengkubuwono IX returned to Yogyakarta using the Eendaagsche Express train. On the way, his father fell ill and became unconscious. Arriving in Yogyakarta, the Sultan was immediately rushed to the Onder de Bogen Hospital and treated until the end of his life on 22 October 1939. Hamengkubuwono IX as crown prince then gathered his brothers and uncles to discuss who would become the next Sultan. All of his relatives agreed to appoint Hamengkubuwono IX as the next Sultan.
Coronation
Hamengkubuwono IX was crowned as Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX on 18 March 1940, the effective date of the political contract with the Dutch East Indies Government. Governor Lucien Adam crowned him for two titles at once. The first title is the title of Prince Adipati Anom Hamengku Negara Sudibya Raja Putra Narendra Mataram, his title as Crown Prince. After that, Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwana IX was crowned with the title Sampéyan Dalem Ingkang Sinuwun Kangjeng Sultan Hamengkubuwana Sénapati ing Ngalaga Abdurrahman Sayidin Panatagama Kalifatullah Ingkang Jumeneng Kaping Sanga.
During his coronation speech, Hamengkubuwono recognized his Javanese origins and said "Even though I have tasted Western Education, I am still and will always be a Javanese."
Reign Negotiations with the Dutch The 28-year-old Sultan negotiated terms and conditions with the 60-year-old governor, Dr Lucien Adam, for four months from November 1939 to February 1940. The main points of contention were: The Sultan did not agree that his prime minister () would also be an employee of the Netherlands to avoid a conflict of interest. The Sultan did not agree that half of his advisors would be selected by the Netherlands. The Sultan did not agree that his small army would receive direct orders from the Dutch army.
Eventually, the Sultan agreed to the proposal by the government of the Netherlands, and in February 1942, the Netherlands surrendered Indonesia to the invading Japanese army.
World War II In 1942, the Dutch Colonial Government in Indonesia was defeated by the Japanese Imperial Army. Japan subsequently occupied the Dutch East Indies. Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX was given autonomy to run the government in his area under the Japanese Colonial Government. The position of Pepatih Dalem which previously had to be responsible to the Sultan and the Dutch Colonial Government now became only responsible to the Sultan.
Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX was re-elected as Ruler of Yogyakarta on 1 August 1942 by the Commander in Chief of the Japanese Occupation Army in Jakarta and Yogyakarta became a Kochi (Special Region). Amid the large population taking into Rōmusha, the Sultan was able to prevent it by manipulating agricultural and livestock statistics. The Sultan proposed the construction of an irrigation canal that connects the Progo River and Opak River so that rice fields could be irrigated throughout the year, which previously had a rain-fed system. This proposal was accepted and even assisted by funding for its construction. This irrigation channel was later called the Mataram Sewer and in Japanese, it was called Gunsei Yosuiro (Yosuiro Canal). After the construction of the Mataram Sewers was completed, agricultural productivity increased so that the population used as Rōmusha was drastically reduced, although some were still brought in by the Colonial Government.
Indonesian War of Independence Support for independence
Directly after the declaration of Indonesian independence on 17 August 1945, Hamengkubuwono IX together with Paku Alam VIII, the Prince of Pakualaman decided to support the newly formed Republic. Hamengkubuwono IX's support was immediately recognized by the Central Government with an appointment to the Life-Governorship of Yogyakarta with Paku Alam VIII as vice governor. Yogyakarta's status was also upgraded to that of the Special Region. In addition, Hamengkubuwono IX served as Yogyakarta's military governor and was also minister of the state from 1945 to 1949.
The Dutch returned to lay claim to their former colony. Hamengkubuwono IX played a vital role in the resistance. In early 1946, the capital of Indonesia was quietly relocated to Yogyakarta, and the Sultan gave the new government some funding. When Indonesia first sought a diplomatic solution with the Dutch Government, Hamengkubuwono IX was part of the Indonesian delegation. On 21 December 1948, the Dutch successfully occupied Yogyakarta and arrested Sukarno and Hatta, Indonesia's first president and vice president. Hamengkubuwono IX did not leave Yogyakarta and continued to serve as governor. The Dutch intended to make Yogyakarta the capital of the new Indonesian federal state of Central Java and to appoint the sultan as head of state, but Hamengkubuwono refused to cooperate.Van den Doel, H.W., Afscheid van Indië. De val van het Nederlandse Imperium in Azië [Farewell to the Indies. The Fall of the Dutch Empire in Asia] (Amsterdam: Prometheus 2001), page 337. The Dutch viewed him with suspicion and at one stage began to entertain the idea that Hamengkubuwono IX was either planning to make Yogyakarta a completely autonomous region or setting his eyes on the leadership of the Republic.
1 March General Offensive
In early 1949, Hamengkubuwono IX conceived the idea of a major offensive to be launched against Yogyakarta and the Dutch troops occupying it. The purpose of this offensive was to show the world that Indonesia still existed and that it was not ready to surrender. The idea was suggested to General Sudirman, the Commander of the Indonesian Army, and received his approval. In February 1949, Hamengkubuwono IX had a meeting with then Lieutenant Colonel Suharto, the man chosen by Sudirman to be the field commander for the offensive. After this discussion, preparations were made for the offensive. This involved intensified guerilla attacks in villages and towns around Yogyakarta to make the Dutch station more troops outside of Yogyakarta and thin the numbers in the city itself. On 1 March 1949 at 6 am, Suharto and his troops launched the 1 March General Offensive. The offensive caught the Dutch by surprise. For his part, Hamengkubuwono IX allowed his palace to be used as a hideout for the troops. For 6 hours, the Indonesian troops had control of Yogyakarta before finally retreating. The offensive was a great success, inspiring demoralized troops all around Indonesia. On 30 June 1949, the retreating Dutch forces handed over authority over Yogyakarta to Hamengkubuwono IX.Van den Doel, H.W., Afscheid van Indië. De val van het Nederlandse Imperium in Azië [Farewell to the Indies. The Fall of the Dutch Empire in Asia] (Amsterdam: Prometheus 2001), page 344. On 27 December, immediately after the transfer of sovereignty was signed by Queen Juliana in Dam Palace in Amsterdam, High Commissioner A.H.J. Lovink transferred his powers to Hamengkubuwono during a ceremony in Jakarta in Koningsplein Palace, later renamed Merdeka Palace.Van den Doel, H.W., Afscheid van Indië. De val van het Nederlandse Imperium in Azië [Farewell to the Indies. The Fall of the Dutch Empire in Asia] (Amsterdam: Prometheus 2001), page 351.
Minister in the Indonesian Government After Indonesia's Independence was recognized by the Dutch, Hamengkubuwono IX continued to serve in government. In addition to continuing his duties as Governor of Yogyakarta, Hamengkubuwono IX continued to serve in the Indonesian Government as Minister.Van den Doel, H.W., Afscheid van Indië. De val van het Nederlandse Imperium in Azië [Farewell to the Indies. The Fall of the Dutch Empire in Asia] (Amsterdam: Prometheus 2001), page 284.
Hamengkubuwono IX served as Minister of Defense and Homeland Security Coordinator (1949–1951 and 1953), vice premier (1951), chairman of the State Apparatus Supervision (1959), chairman of the State Audit Board (1960–1966), and Coordinating Minister for Development while concurrently holding the position of Minister of Tourism (1966). In addition to these positions, Hamengkubuwono IX held the positions of chairman of the National Sports Committee of Indonesia (KONI) and chairman of the Tourism Patrons Council.
Transition from old order to new order During the G30S Movement, in the course of which six generals were kidnapped from their homes and killed, Hamengkubuwono IX was present in Jakarta. That morning, with President Sukarno's location still uncertain, Hamengkubuwono was contacted by Suharto, who was now a major general and the commander of Kostrad (Army Strategic Command) for advice. Suharto suggested that because Sukarno's whereabouts are still unknown, Hamengkubuwono IX should form a provisional government to help counter the movement. Hamengkubuwono IX rejected the offer and contacted one of Sukarno's many wives who confirmed Sukarno's whereabouts.
After Suharto had received Supersemar (Order of the Eleventh of March) in March 1966, Hamengkubuwono IX and Adam Malik joined him in a triumvirate to reverse Sukarno's policies. Hamengkubuwono IX was appointed Minister of Economics, Finance, and Industry and charged with rectifying Indonesia's Economic problems. He would hold this position until 1973.