Muhammad Ismail (31 December 1927 – 23 February 2008) was an Indonesian military officer and politician who served as the

Governor of Central Java The Governor of Central Java (; ) is the first-level regional head in Central Java along with the Deputy Governor and 120 members of the Central Java Regional House of Representatives. The Governor and Deputy Governor of Central Java are elected ...

for two terms between 1983 and 1993. During his military career, he had been commander of

Kostrad The Army Strategic Reserve Command (; abbreviated Kostrad) is a combined-arms formation of the Indonesian Army. Kostrad is a Corps level command which has up to 35,000 troops. It also supervises operational readiness among all commands and con ...

along with the

Bukit Barisan The Bukit Barisan or the Barisan Mountains are a mountain range on the western side of Sumatra, Indonesia, covering nearly 1,700 km (1,050 mi) from the north to the south of the island. The Bukit Barisan range consists primarily of volca ...

and Diponegoro Military Regions.

Early life

Ismail was born on 31 December 1927 in Maos, today part of

Cilacap Regency Cilacap Regency (, also spelt: Chilachap, old spelling: Tjilatjap, Sundanese: ) is a regency () in the southwestern part of Central Java province in Indonesia. Its capital is the town of Cilacap, which had 263,098 inhabitants in mid 2024, sprea ...

. He graduated from the colonial elementary school

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 ...

in 1940, with his middle school studies at a

Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs ( Dutch, "more advanced primary education") was during part of the twentieth century a level of education in the Netherlands, Suriname and the Dutch East Indies. The system was comparable with the junior high school ...

interrupted in 1942. He would complete middle school in 1945. Later, he enrolled at the

Indonesian Military Academy The Military Academy ( or ) is a service academy of the Indonesian Army, part of the Indonesian National Armed Forces Academy (). Founded on the early stages of the Indonesian Revolutionary War and located in the city of Magelang in Central J ...

, becoming part of the academy's first cohort.

Career

He began his career as a military officer as a staff in the Yogyakarta Military District in 1948. During his career, he had spent some time studying public administration although he did not complete his degree, and also attended

Bundeswehr Command and Staff College The Bundeswehr Command and Staff College (, ''FüAkBw'') is the Staff college, General Staff College (''Senior Military Academy'') of the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, established in 1957 as the successor of the Prussian Military Academy, ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. In 1976, he was appointed chief of staff of the

, then commander of the Bukit Barisan Military Region the following year. In 1980, he became commander of Kostrad. That same year, broke out in

Central Java Central Java (, ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogya ...

, and two months later Ismail was appointed as commander of the Diponegoro Military Region covering the province. He held this post for two and a half years, and after his replacement Ismail held no postings for several months. On 8 April 1983, with the governor of Central Java Soepardjo Rustam being appointed

Minister of Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

, Ismail was appointed as the new governor. By this time, Ismail held the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

. He was made acting governor on 18 April 1983, and was officially sworn in as full governor on 24 August 1983. During his tenure, he banned car rallies and rock music concerts. He also renovated the facade of public buildings, replacing colonial European architecture styles with "traditional" styles of Central Java. Ismail was appointed for a second term in 1988. He was succeeded by Soewardi on 24 August 1993.

Later life

Ismail died on 23 February 2008 at the Telogorejo Hospital in Semarang, after having experienced a heart failure. At the time of his death, he had five sons and three daughters from his marriage to E. Somarsiyah. He was buried the following day in a military ceremony at the Giri Tunggal Heroes' Cemetery in Semarang.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ismail, Muhammad 1927 births 2008 deaths People from Cilacap Regency Governors of Central Java Indonesian generals Indonesian National Military Academy alumni