Mohammad Hatta
First Vice President of Indonesia, who read the Declaration of Independence together with Sukarno.
Life
Dutch-educated economist
Hatta was born in West Sumatra and studied economics in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. While studying abroad he led the Indonesian students' association and was arrested and put on trial by the Dutch authorities for promoting independence.
Declaration of Independence
After returning home, he and Sukarno were both exiled by the Dutch for many years. On August 17, 1945, he and Sukarno read the Declaration of Independence together; he became Vice President and later also served as Prime Minister, leading negotiations with the Netherlands, and in 1949 in The Hague he accepted the transfer of sovereignty from the Netherlands.
Father of Cooperatives
In 1956 he resigned as Vice President over political differences with Sukarno; thereafter he followed national affairs as a critic, and died in 1980.
Legacy
Hatta is honored as one of Indonesia's "Fathers of the Proclamation of Independence" and as the "Father of Cooperatives," and Jakarta's international airport is named jointly after him and Sukarno.
Did you know? He lived a life of scrupulous honesty; it is said he once wanted to buy a pair of Bally shoes but never managed to save enough money before he died.
Key dates
- 1921Studied in the Netherlands
- 1927Put on trial in the Netherlands
- 1934Exiled
- 1945Read the Declaration of Independence, became Vice President
- 1949Received the transfer of sovereignty in The Hague
- 1956Resigns
- 1980Died