Raden Abdulkadir Widjojoatmodjo (18 December 1904 – 24 December 1992) was a military officer, diplomat, and high-ranking official of the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

Early career

Abdulkadir was educated at a Dutch school and attended Indological training at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

under Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje who recommended him to the Homegrown Council. There he worked as an administrator. In 1919 he became secretary of the Dutch embassy in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

in the

Kingdom of Hejaz The Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz (, ''Al-Mamlakah al-Ḥijāziyyah Al-Hāshimiyyah'') was a state in the Hejaz region of Western Asia that included the western portion of the Arabian Peninsula that was ruled by the Hashemite dynasty. It was self ...

. In 1932 he became deputy consul in

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, and therefore the highest representative of the Netherlands. Just before the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was a senior official in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

. From March 1944 he was a consultant in the public service of Deputy Governor General

Hubertus van Mook Hubertus Johannes "Huib" van Mook (30 May 1894 – 10 May 1965) was a Dutch administrator in the East Indies. During the Indonesian National Revolution, he served as the lieutenant governor-general of the Dutch East Indies from 1942 to 1948.Kah ...

that the Dutch government from outside the Dutch East Indies tried to restore with the

Netherlands Indies Civil Administration The Netherlands Indies Civil Administration (, NICA) was a semi-military organisation, established in April 1944, tasked with the restoration of civil administration and law of Dutch colonial rule after the capitulation of the Japanese occupation ...

(NICA), from 1946 the Allied Military Administration Civil Affairs Branch (AMACAB) and after the departure of the British Department of Temporary Administration troops. He was temporarily the highest authority of the Dutch East Indies in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. Abdulkadir participated in the restoration of Dutch authority in the East Indies and was appointed a resident (as a colonel in the KNIL) from

Maluku Maluku may refer to: Places * Maluku Islands, an archipelago that is part of Indonesia ** List of the Maluku Islands * Maluku (province), a province of Indonesia comprising the central and southern parts of the archipelago * North Maluku, a provin ...

Indonesian revolution

COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Portret van kolonel Abdulkadir Widjojoatmodjo en zijn echtgenote TMnr 10018595

Abdulkadir played an active role in the preparations for constitutional changes in 1946 as part of the Secretary of State for public affairs. At the end of 1947, he served as

governor-general of the Dutch East Indies The governor-general of the Dutch East Indies (, ) represented Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949. Occupied by Japanese forces between 1942 and 1945, followed by the ...

and was an envoy of the Dutch delegation during United Nations-led negotiations of the independence of Indonesia.

Renville Agreement

In the

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 Southeast Asia, and Indonesian Republicans seeking Indonesian independence during the ...

, Abdulkadir was an envoy of the Dutch delegation taking place on 8 December 1947. He signed the agreement, representing the Netherlands.

Formation of the State of Pasundan

Abdulkadir, who served as Recomba (governor) of

West Java West Java (, ) is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten and the country's capital region of Jakarta to t ...

, took the initiative to hold the first conference of the

State of Pasundan The State of Pasundan (, ; ) was a federated state, federal state ''(negara bagian)'' formed in the western part of the Indonesian island of Java by the Netherlands in 1948 following the Linggadjati Agreement. It was similar to the geographical ...

on 12–19 October 1947. He invited as a participant in the conference the former republican resident in Bogor R.A.A Hilman Djajadiningrat who was appointed as chairman.

Post-war

Abdulkadir continued to live in Indonesia after its independence for 17 years. There, he was treated like a pariah for collaborating with the Dutch. Following his declined health, he emigrated to the Netherlands. He died in 1992 in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

and was later buried at the family grave site in Karanganyar.

References

{{Reflist 1904 births 1992 deaths People from Salatiga Politicians from Central Java People of the Indonesian National Revolution Royal Netherlands East Indies Army officers