Mohammad Roem (; May 16, 1908 – September 24, 1983) was a diplomat and one of Indonesia's leaders in the Indonesian war for independence. During the Sukarno presidency, he served as Deputy

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

, Foreign Minister, and later

Minister of Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

. He was most notable for his part in the

Roem–Van Roijen Agreement The Roem–Van Roijen Agreement was an agreement made between Indonesian republicans and the Netherlands on 7 May 1949 at the Des Indes Hotel. The name was derived between the two principal negotiators at the meeting; Mohammad Roem and Jan ...

during the

Indonesian revolution The Indonesian National Revolution, or the Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during postwar and postcoloni ...

Early life

Roem was born in Parakan,

Temanggung Temanggung Regency ( id, Kabupaten Temanggung) is a regency in the Central Java Province of Indonesia. It covers a land area of 870.65 km2 and had a population of 708,546 at the 2010 Census and 790,174 at the 2020 Census. Its capital is the town ...

, Central Java, on May 16, 1908. His father's name was Dulkarnaen Djojosasmito, and his mother's name was Siti Tarbijah. He moved to

Pekalongan Pekalongan ( jv, ꦦꦼꦏꦭꦺꦴꦔꦤ꧀) is a city of Central Java, Indonesia. It was formerly the seat of Pekalongan Regency on the northern coast of the province, but is now an independent municipality within the province. The city is Cen ...

because Parakan was hit by an outbreak of infectious diseases like cholera,

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

, and influenza. In 1915, he studied at ''Volksschool'' and two years later continued to ''Hollandse Inlandsche School'' until 1924. In 1924, he received a scholarship to study at the ''School tot Opleiding van Inlandsche Artsen'' ("school for the training of native physicians", STOVIA) after attending government examinations. Three years later, he completed the preliminary test and was transferred to ''Algemene Middelbare School'', and graduated in 1930. After attending the admission test of Medical College, and was rejected, he turned to law, entering ''Rechts Hoogeschool'' in 1932 and obtained the degree Meester in de Rechten in 1939.

Career

During the

Indonesian national awakening The Indonesian National Awakening ( id, Kebangkitan Nasional Indonesia) is a term for the period in the first half of the 20th century, during which people from many parts of the archipelago of Indonesia first began to develop a national conscio ...

, he was active in several organizations such as Jong Islamieten Bond in 1924 and

Sarekat Islam Sarekat Islam or Syarikat Islam ( 'Islamic Association' or 'Islamic Union'; SI) was an Indonesian socio-political organization founded at the beginning of the 20th Century during the Dutch colonial era. Initially, SI served as a cooperative of ...

in 1925. During the

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

, he was a member of the Indonesian delegation at the

Linggarjati Agreement The Linggardjati Agreement (''Linggarjati'' in modern Indonesian spelling) was a political accord concluded on 15 November 1946 by the Dutch administration and the unilaterally declared Republic of Indonesia in the village of Linggarjati, Kuning ...

(1946) and

Renville Agreement The Renville Agreement was a United Nations Security Council-brokered political accord between the Netherlands, which was seeking to re-establish its colony in South East Asia, and Indonesian Republicans seeking for Indonesian independence durin ...

(1948). In 1949, he was also the leader of the delegation at the

, that discussed

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

's borders, and which was signed on May 7, 1949. As a state official, he served as interior minister in the

Sjahrir III Cabinet The third Sjahrir Cabinet ( id, Kabinet Sjahrir Ketiga) was the fourth Indonesian cabinet. It served from October 1946 to June 1947, when it fell due to disagreements related to implementation of the Linggadjati Agreement and subsequent negotiat ...

, foreign minister during the

Natsir Cabinet The Natsir Cabinet (Indonesian: Kabinet Natsir) was the first cabinet formed after the dissolution of the United States of Indonesia, United Republic of Indonesia and returned to the Indonesia, Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. This c ...

, interior minister during the

Wilopo Cabinet The Wilopo Cabinet was an Indonesian cabinet that served from 1 April 1952 until 3 June 1953. Composition Cabinet Leadership *Prime Minister: Wilopo (Indonesian National Party – PNI) *Deputy Prime Minister: Prawoto Mangkusasmito (Masyumi Pa ...

, and deputy prime minister during the Ali Sastroamidjojo II Cabinet.Detail Biodata Pejabat Menteri
at kepustakaan-presiden.pnri.go.id

Prison

Roem was a senior figure in the

Masyumi Party The Council of Indonesian Muslim Associations ( id, Partai Majelis Syuro Muslimin Indonesia), better known as the Masyumi Party, was a major Islamic political party in Indonesia during the Liberal Democracy Era in Indonesia. It was banned in ...

, which was banned by President Sukarno in 1960 for its support of the PRRI rebellion. In 1962 he was arrested and jailed without trial in Madiun, together with Sutan Sjahrir, Anuk Agung, the sultan of Pontianak Hamid and Soedarpo Sastrosatomo. They were released by attorney-general Sugi Aito in May 1966.''Almanac of Current World Leaders'', Volume 9, 1966. p.132

Personal life

Roem married Markisah Dahlia in 1932. They had two children; a boy, Roemoso, born in 1933 and a girl, Rumeisa, born in 1939.

Death

Roem died in September 1983 from a lung disorder, leaving a wife and two children.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roem, Mohammad 1908 births 1983 deaths People from Temanggung Regency Indonesian Muslims Javanese people Deaths from lung disease Foreign ministers of Indonesia Interior ministers of Indonesia