Anak Agung Bagus Sutedja ( Modern Spelling: Anak Agung Bagus Suteja; 13 January 1923 – 29 July 1966?) was the first resident and

governor of Bali The Governor of Bali is the head of the first-level in the Bali, Bali Provincial Government who holds the government in Bali along with the Vice Governor of Bali, vice governor and 55 members of the Bali Regional House of Representatives (DPRD)� ...

, appointed by 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 ...

in 1958, when Bali became a province.

Early life

Sutdeja was born in Mendoyo, Bali on 13 January 1923. He was the son of the last

Raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...

Jembrana Jembrana Regency (; ) is a regency (''kabupaten'') in the southwest of Bali, Indonesia. It has an area of 841.8 km2 and had a population of 329,353 in 2024.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, ''Kabupaten Jembrana Dalam Angka 20 ...

, the late Anak Agung Bagus Negara, and was raised in Royal Palace Negara, Jembrana. 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

Heiho were units raised by the Imperial Japanese Army during its occupation of the Dutch East Indies in World War II. Alongside the ''Heiho'', the Japanese organized ''Giyūgun'' (義勇軍, "Volunteer army"), such as the Java-based "Defenders of the ...

Career

Anak Agung Bagus Sutedja was influenced by nationalist ideas from his school years. After August 1945 he was actively involved with the Republicans in the

Indonesian 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 p ...

that strove to expel the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

. The Dutch colonial authorities imprisoned him in 1948–49. After Indonesian independence he was appointed regional head (kepala daerah) of Bali by President Sukarno. As an administrator he was known as an incorruptible leftist idealist. Known as a "favoured son" of Sukarno, he was appointed governor when Bali became a province of its own in 1958. He tried to stay above politics, but was sympathetic towards the

Communist Party of Indonesia The Communist Party of Indonesia (Indonesian language, Indonesian: ''Partai Komunis Indonesia'', PKI) was a communist party in the Dutch East Indies and later Indonesia. It was the largest non-ruling communist party in the world before its Indo ...

(PKI). After the coup events 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 ...

in 1965, Sutedja was summoned to Jakarta for consultations, and replaced as governor in December that year. On 29 July 1966, four fully-armed soldiers came to his house in

Senayan Senayan is an administrative village (''kelurahan'' in Indonesian) at Kebayoran Baru subdistrict, South Jakarta, Indonesia. The post code is 12190. Boundaries The borders of Senayan are: * Semanggi Flyover in the north * General Sudirman Street ...

South Jakarta South Jakarta (; ), abbreviated as Jaksel, is one of the five administrative cities which form the Special Capital Region of Jakarta, Indonesia. South Jakarta is not self-governed and does not have a city council, hence it is not classified as a ...

saying they were taking him to meet with an infantry colonel. He said goodbye to his family, and was never seen again. His political opponent, the

Indonesian National Party The Indonesian National Party (, PNI) was the name used by several nationalist political parties in Indonesia from 1927 until 1973. The first PNI was established by future President Sukarno. After independence, the new PNI supplied a number of pri ...

(PNI), subsequently claimed that Sutedja had opted for ''nyupat'', or voluntary execution, in an effort to end the violence then sweeping Bali, and was stabbed to death outside Jakarta.

Notes

References

* * * * * 1923 births 1960s deaths 1960s missing person cases Balinese people Governors of Bali Indonesian Hindus Victims of the Indonesian mass killings of 1965–1966 Missing people Missing person cases in Indonesia People from Jembrana Regency People murdered in Indonesia Political repression in Indonesia Unsolved murders in Indonesia {{Indonesia-politician-stub

Early life

Career

See also

Notes

References