Tjokorda Gde Raka Soekawati (new spelling: Cokorda Gde Raka Sukawati), (15 January 1899 in

Ubud Ubud is a town on the Indonesian island of Bali in Ubud District, located amongst rice paddies and steep ravines in the central foothills of the Gianyar regency. Promoted as an arts and culture centre, it has developed a large tourism indust ...

Gianyar Gianyar Regency is a regency (''kabupaten'') in the Indonesian province and island of Bali, Indonesia. It has an area of 368.0 km2 and had a population of 469,777 at the 2010 Census, and 515,344 at the 2020 Census, making it the second most ...

, Bali – 1967) was the only President of the State of East Indonesia from 1946 to its disestablishment in 1950.

Biography

His title Tjokorda Gde indicates that Soekawati belonged to the highest

ksatria Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the cont ...

(one of the four noble

castes Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

in Bali). In his young years, Soekawati attended a school for Indonesian officials. In 1918 he was an official Indonesian candidate appointed by the Bandung auditors. At the end of the same year he was mantripolitie (a title for indigenous officials) to

Denpasar Denpasar (; Balinese: ᬤᬾᬦ᭄ᬧᬲᬃ) is the capital of Bali and the main gateway to the island. The city is also a hub for other cities in the Lesser Sunda Islands. With the rapid growth of the tourism industry in Bali, Denpasar has e ...

. In 1919, he had political ambitions and was promoted to Punggawa (district) of his birthplace

. In 1924 he was elected member of the People's Council, which he held until 1927.Tjokorda Gde Raka Soekawati, ''Legende over den oorsprong van de rijst en Godsdienstige gebruiken bij den rijstbouw onder de Baliërs'', Cincinnati, OH: Albrecht & Co, 1926, pp 364, 460 Then, in the same year, he was a member of the board of delegates of the People's Council. At the end of 1931 he went to study in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. In 1932 he continued his journey to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

to study agriculture and animal husbandry. Between 18 and 24 December 1946, he attended the conference in

and was chosen as interim president of the State of East Indonesia. The conference also led to the formation of the Provisional Parliament of East Indonesia.

George McTurnan Kahin George McTurnan KahinSometimes referred to as George Kahin or George McT. Kahin. Some, but fewer, sources may also cite him as George M. Kahin. (January 25, 1918 – January 29, 2000) was an American historian and political scientist. He was on ...

, ''Nationalism and Revolution in Indonesia'', Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1952, pp 364, 460 On 21 April 1950, he successfully negotiated East Indonesia's integration into a

unitary Unitary may refer to: Mathematics * Unitary divisor * Unitary element * Unitary group * Unitary matrix * Unitary morphism * Unitary operator * Unitary transformation * Unitary representation * Unitarity (physics) * ''E''-unitary inverse semigrou ...

Republic of Indonesia, heeding majority support for a unitary state. He had a Balinese wife Gusti Agung Niang Putu of which a son was born Tjokorda Ngurah Wim Sukawati. In 1933 Tjokorda Raka married a French woman named Gilberte Vincent with whom he had two sons.

Notes

Sources in Dutch

* ''Hoe de Baliër zich kleedt'' (1926),p. 12 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Soekawati, Tjokorda Gde Raka 1899 births 1967 deaths Balinese people Indonesian Hindus Indonesian politicians Politicians from Bali People of the Indonesian National Revolution People from Gianyar Regency Politicians from the State of East Indonesia