Colonel Ahmed Husein (1 April 1925 – 28 November 1998) was an Indonesian independence fighter and military leader of the PRRI. Forming the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia (PRRI) 15, 1958, in Padang under the leadership of Syafruddin Prawiranegara.

Early life

Ahmed Husein was born in

Padang Padang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of West Sumatra. It had a population of 833,562 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 909,040 at the 2020 Census;Bad ...

on April 1, 1925, to Abdoel Kahar, a pharmacy owner, at the Padang military hospital. Ahmad has eleven siblings (7 boys, 4 girls). He attended

Hollandsch-Inlandsche School Hollandsch-Inlandsche School (HIS) (Dutch school for natives) was a school during the Dutch East Indies, Dutch colonial era in Indonesia. The school, was first established in 1914, following with the enactment of the Dutch Ethical Policy. The scho ...

Padang and graduated in 1938. After that he studied at

Taman Siswa ''Taman Siswa'' (), officially the Tamansiswa Educational Association Headquartered in Yogyakarta (), was a Javanese Pedagogy, educational movement and school system founded by Ki Hadjar Dewantara in 1922. It began by founding a kindergarten ...

Bukittinggi Bukittinggi (, Jawi script, Jawi: , formerly ) is the third largest city in West Sumatra, Indonesia, with a population of 111,312 in 2010Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 121,028 in 2020.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. An official es ...

and graduated in 1941. In 1943, following the

Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies The Empire of Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) during World War II from March 1942 until after the end of the war in September 1945. In May 1940, Germany German invasion of the Netherlands, occupied the Netherlands, and ma ...

, Ahmad Husein enrolled in Giyugun, a native volunteer force. Prior to

Japan's surrender The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, ending the war. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was incapable of conduc ...

in the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

, Ahmed became a member of the People's Security Agency (BKR) in Padang, actively recruiting people into the BKR. Ahmad became the combat commander of the Padang Area, which became known as the Kuranji Tiger. During the

Indonesian war of independence The Indonesian National Revolution (), also known as 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 ...

his unit was reorganized into the Banteng Division, where he faced Dutch forces during the

first First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and second Dutch police action. He met

Sukarno Sukarno (6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of the Indonesian struggle for independenc ...

during a visit to Bukittinggi, where he was disappointed in the Java focused development of the central government.

Banteng Council

The Banteng Council was created by Colonel Ismail Lengah on 20 December 1956, Headquartered in

Medan Medan ( , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sumatra. The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multi ...

. Ahmad Husein was Commander of 4th regiment of the Bukit Barisan Territorial Command when he became commander of the Banteng Council and governor of

Central Sumatra Central Sumatra () was a province in Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesia whose territories included present day West Sumatra, Riau, Jambi, and the Riau Islands. Since 1957 this province has not been registered as an Indonesian province after it was ...

Commander of the PRRI

On 9 January 1958, after a meeting in Dharmasraya Regency, Ahmad Husein's Banteng Council, Maludin Simbolon's Elephant Council, Barlian's Garuda Council and

Ventje Sumual Herman Nicolas Ventje Sumual (11 June 1923 – 28 March 2010) was a military officer involved in the Indonesian National Revolution he also involved in General Offensive of 1 March 1949. His appointments include regional commander of KODAM VI ...

's Manguni Council banded together to form the

Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia The Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia (, PRRI) was a revolutionary government set up in Sumatra to oppose the central government of Indonesia in 1958. Although frequently referred to as the PRRI/Permesta rebellion, the Perm ...

(PRRI), a rival government to the Java-based Central government of president Sukarno and prime minister

Djuanda Kartawidjaja Djuanda Kartawidjaja ( EYD: Juanda Kartawijaya; 14 January 1911 – 7 November 1963), more commonly referred to mononymously as Djuanda, was an Indonesian politician and technocrat who held various positions during the presidency of Sukarno ...

, where Ahmad Husein was chosen as commander. He led the PRRI in an alliance with D.J. Somba's

Permesta Permesta was a rebel movement in Indonesia that was declared on 2 March 1957 by civil and military leaders in Eastern Indonesia. Initially the center of the movement was in Makassar, which at that time was the capital of the province of Sulawe ...

until its downfall in 1961, when he was captured by government forces, and incarcerated until the fall of Sukarno in 1965.

Death

Ahmad Husein died in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

on 28 November 1998, and was buried in his hometown of Padang, at the Kuranji Heroes Cemetery.

References

{{reflist 1925 births 1998 deaths Indonesian military personnel People from Padang