Moenadi ( EYD: Munadi; 26 December 1923 – 12 January 2013) was an Indonesian military officer and politician who served as the Governor of Central Java between 1966 and 1974. He had previously served in the military, and was a subordinate officer of

Suharto 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 ...

Early life

Moenadi was born on 26 December 1923 in the town of

Tuban Tuban is a town located on the north coast of Java, in Tuban Regency (of which the town is the administrative capital), approximately west of Surabaya, the capital of East Java. Tuban Regency is surrounded by Lamongan Regency in the east, Bojo ...

, today in

East Java East Java (, , ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost third of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean border its northern ...

. He was educated at Dutch colonial schools, and during 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 ...

he joined the Japanese-backed

Defenders of the Homeland The Defenders of the Homeland (; , PETA) was a volunteer army established on 3 October 1943 in the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) by the occupying Japanese. The Japanese intended PETA to assist their forces in opposing a possible inv ...

militia organization.

Career

He fought on the Republican side during the

Indonesian National Revolution 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 A ...

, and in 1948, he was made territorial commander around

Pati Regency Pati Regency (, ꦥꦛꦶ) is a Regencies of Indonesia, regency () in the northeastern region of Central Java Province, on the island of Java in Indonesia. The regency covers an area of 1,503.68 km2, on the coast of the Java Sea. It had a ...

with the rank of major, under

Gatot Subroto General Gatot Soebroto ( Enhanced Spelling: Gatot Subroto, 10 October 1907 – 11 June 1962) was an Indonesian general who began his military career with the Royal Dutch East Indies Army (KNIL) and rose to be deputy Army chief-of-staff. Early ...

's 2nd division. In independent Indonesia, Moenadi continued to serve in the army, becoming a staff officer of the Diponegoro Military Region. When future president

became Diponegoro's commander during the 1950s, Moenadi was under his command as commander of the Semarang Military District. Moenadi would organize night markets in Semarang in order to fund the unit, which local

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...

units believed was a cover for illegal gambling activities. Both Moenadi and Suharto would be removed from their posts within Diponegoro in 1959. In 1960, with Suharto serving as commander of the Army's General Reserves, Moenadi (now a lieutenant colonel) would assist him in forming a new corps intended as a more mobile reserve unit. This unit was formed in 1961, today known as the

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 ...

, and Moenadi would serve within it as a senior officer. In 1966, following the

30 September movement The Thirtieth of September Movement (, also known as G30S, and by the syllabic abbreviation Gestapu for ''Gerakan September Tiga Puluh'', Thirtieth of September Movement, also unofficially called Gestok, for ''Gerakan Satu Oktober'', or Fir ...

, he was installed as acting governor of Central Java in 1966. Reportedly,

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 ...

Basuki Rahmat Major General (Retired, Ret) Basuki Rahmat (4 November 1921 – 8 January 1969) was an Indonesian general, National Hero of Indonesia, National Hero and a witness to the signing of the Supersemar document transferring power from President Sukarno ...

, who had known Moenadi since 1946, offered Moenadi the position during a flight from Jakarta to Semarang. He was made a full governor on 29 December 1969, following a unanimous vote to elect him on 29 September with no other candidates eligible. His tenure ended in December 1974, and he was replaced by Soepardjo Rustam. He held the final rank of major general before retiring from active service. After his gubernatorial tenure, he became president director at a spice factory.

Death

Moenadi died on 12 January 2013 in Surakarta. He was buried two days later at the Kusuma Bhakti Heroes' Cemetery within the city. A number of roads in Central Java are named after him.

Personal life

Moenadi's first wife Istriati Moenadi was a member of the

People's Consultative Assembly The People's Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia (, MPR-RI) is the legislative branch in Indonesia's political system. It is composed of the members of a lower body, House of Representatives (DPR) and an upper body, Regional R ...

, and the couple had three children prior to Istriati's death in 1974. In 1981, he had his second marriage with 27-year-old Tan Li Chuk, who had converted to Islam and changed her name to Yuyuk Fatimah. Fatimah and Moenadi had two daughters.

References

{{Governors of Central Java 1923 births 2013 deaths Governors of Central Java Indonesian generals People from Tuban