The First Sjahrir Cabinet () was the second

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

n cabinet, named after the prime minister. It served from November 1945 to March 1946.

Background

The first Sjahrir cabinet was established following the 11 November 1945 demand from the

Central Indonesian National Committee The Central Indonesian National Committee (, KNIP), also known as the Central National Committee (, KNP), was a body appointed to assist the president of the newly independent Indonesia. Originally purely advisory, it later gained assumed legisl ...

, which was the ''de facto'' legislature, that the cabinet be responsible to it, not to President

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 ...

. The existing cabinet was dismissed and

Sutan Sjahrir Sutan Sjahrir (5 March 1909 – 9 April 1966) was an Indonesian statesman and independence leader who served as the first Prime Minister of Indonesia, prime minister of Indonesia from 1945 until 1947. He played a key role during the Indonesian Na ...

was asked to become

prime minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. He agreed to do so on the condition he was allowed to select his own cabinet. The cabinet lineup was announced on 14 November 1945.Kahin (1952) p169Ricklefs (1982) p206

Composition

None of the ministers had served in the previous cabinet. The government was intended to be inclusive, with representation from the nationalist and the religious parties, the latter grouping being represented by the PSII.Simanjuntak (2003) pp. 52-54

Changes

There were several changes over the short life of this cabinet. On 5 December 1945, Finance Minister Soenarjo Kolopaking and Social Affairs Minister Adjidarmo Tjokronegoro resigned and were replaced by Soerachman Tjokroadisoerjo and Soedarsono respectively. On 3 January 1946, State Minister Rasjidi was appointed Minister of Religious Affairs, heading the new ministry established the same day. The following day, Muhammad Natsir took over Amir Sjarifuddin's job as Minister of Information. On 7 January 1946, Soegiono Josodiningrat was appointed to replace Junior Minister of People's Security Abdul Murad and the name of the ministry was changed to the Ministry of Defense.Simanjuntak (2003) p25

The end of the cabinet

The Sjahrir cabinet fell as a result of the conflict between the Struggle Front of opposition politician

Tan Malaka Ibrahim Simabua Datuak (posthumous) Sutan Malaka also known as Tan Malaka (2 June 1897 – 21 February 1949) was an Indonesian statesman, teacher, Marxism, Marxist, Philosophy, philosopher, founder of Struggle Union (Persatuan Perjuangan) and Murb ...

and Sjahrir over the latter's readiness to compromise with the Dutch before their colonial army had left Indonesia. Tan Malaka demanded a cabinet of national unity which secured widespread public support, prompting Sjahrir's resignation on 28 February 1946.Simanjuntak (2003) pp. 26-28Kahin (1952) pp.175-176

Notes

References

* Kahin, George McTurnan (1952) ''Nationalism and Revolution in Indonesia'' Cornell University Press, * Ricklefs (1982), ''A History of Modern Indonesia'', Macmillan Southeast Asian reprint, * {{Cabinets of Indonesia Cabinets of Indonesia Indonesian National Revolution 1945 establishments in Indonesia 1946 disestablishments in Indonesia Cabinets established in 1945 Cabinets disestablished in 1946