Deliar Noer (9 February 1926 – 17 June 2008) was an Indonesian Muslim scholar, politician, and lecturer, who was a former rector of the State University of Jakarta.

Biography

Early life

Noer was born 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 ...

, North Sumatra on 9 February 1926. He was a Minang descent, from Bukittinggi, West Sumatra. After graduating from high school, he attended to Universitas Nasional and became a chairman of Himpunan Mahasiswa Islam. After he obtained a baccalaureate, he continued to

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

and became the first Indonesian that obtained Ph.D. degree in political science through a dissertation titled ''The Modernist Muslim Movement in Indonesia 1900-1942''.

Political career

In early New Order era, he became an advisory staff of President

Soeharto Suharto (8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian Officer (armed forces), military officer and politician, and dictator, who was the second and longest serving president of Indonesia, serving from 1967 to 1998. His 32 years rule, cha ...

. Then he resigned because of different ideologies with other staff, and together with

Mohammad Hatta Mohammad Hatta ( ; 12 August 1902 – 14 March 1980) was an Indonesian statesman, nationalist, and independence activist who served as the country's first Vice President of Indonesia, vice president as well as the third prime minister. Known as ...

, they founded Partai Demokrasi Islam Indonesia (Indonesian Islamic Democratic Party), but the party was not approved by government. In

reformation era The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, he founded Partai Ummat Islam (Islamic Community Party), but did not get enough votes to surpass the parliamentary threshold in 1999 elections.

Controversy and death

He served as a rector of IKIP Jakarta (Institute of Teaching and Education Sciences of Jakarta) for seven years. In June 1974, he was fired a few months before deemed provocative against Minister of Education and Culture Sjarif Thayeb. Around ten years earlier, he also was prohibited to teach at Universitas Sumatera Utara by Thayeb who served as Minister of Natural Sciences and Higher Educations as he was accused of subversion and being a United States' stooge. After being banned from teaching throughout Indonesia, he accepted an offer to become researcher from

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

. The second year in Australia, he became guest lecturer at

Griffith University Griffith University is a public university, public research university in South East Queensland on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of Australia. The university was founded in 1971, but was not officially opened until 1975. Griffith ...

. After teaching for five years, he and

Mohammad Natsir Mohammad Natsir (17 July 19086 February 1993) was an Islamic scholar and politician. He was Indonesia's fifth List of Prime Ministers of Indonesia, prime minister. After moving to Bandung from his hometown Solok, West Sumatra for senior high sch ...

formed Lembaga Islam untuk Penelitian dan Pengembangan Masyarakat (Islamic Institution for Community Development and Research). Noer died on 17 June 2008.

Personal life

In 1961, he married Zahara Daulay in United States when he studied at Cornell University. He had a son and three grandchildren.

References

Bibliography

* * 1926 births 2008 deaths Indonesian Muslims Minangkabau people Cornell University alumni {{indonesia-bio-stub