Early life and education (right), at a conference, enjoying
coffeeAlexander Andries Maramis was born in
Manado on 20 June 1897 to Andries Alexander Maramis and Charlotte Ticoalu. Maramis' aunt was
Maria Walanda Maramis, an Indonesian National Hero who sought to advance the circumstances of women in Indonesia at the beginning of the 20th century. Maramis attended the
Europeesche Lagere School (ELS), the Dutch language elementary school in Manado. He then attended the
Hogere burgerschool (HBS), the Dutch secondary school, in
Batavia (now
Jakarta), where he met and became friends with
Arnold Mononutu (also from
Minahasa) and
Achmad Subardjo. In 1919, Maramis left for the
Netherlands where he studied law at
Leiden University. During his time in
Leiden, Maramis became involved with the
Perhimpoenan Indonesia, an association for Indonesian students in the Netherlands. In 1924, he was elected as secretary of the organization. Maramis graduated with a law degree in 1924. He then returned to Indonesia and began his career as a lawyer at the district court in
Semarang in 1925. A year later he moved to the district court in
Palembang. During the
Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, he was a member of the
Central Advisory Council, established by the occupation government in 1943.
Struggle for independence Maramis was appointed to the
Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence or
Badan Penyelidik Usaha Persiapan Kemerdekaan (BPUPK) which was established on 1 March 1945. Maramis was part of a working committee consisting of nine members called the
Panitia Sembilan (
committee of nine). This committee formulated a constitutional
preamble that sought to capture the main values of the ideological principles called
Pancasila that was outlined by
Sukarno in his speech on 1 June 1945. The preamble was called the
Jakarta Charter (
Piagam Jakarta). On 11 July 1945 during one of the BPUPK plenary meetings, Maramis was appointed to a commission to edit the Constitution (
Panitia Perancang Undang-Undang Dasar) before it was to be voted on by all members of the BPUPK. He would later be asked by President
Suharto in 1976 to be part of a committee to provide an interpretation of
Pancasila as its meaning was thought to have deviated at the time.
Career in government I Cabinet members Maramis was appointed as
Minister of Finance in the first Indonesian cabinet called the
Presidential Cabinet on 26 September 1945. He replaced
Samsi Sastrawidagda who was initially given the position when the cabinet was formed on 2 September 1945. Sastrawidagda resigned from the position after just two weeks due to his chronic illness. Sastrawidagda was the first person to be appointed as the Indonesian Minister of Finance, but because of Sastrawidagda's very short time in office, Maramis could be considered the
de facto first Indonesian Minister of Finance. As Minister of Finance, Maramis was instrumental in the development and printing of the first Indonesian currency notes or
Oeang Republik Indonesia (ORI). It took a year before the notes were formally issued on 30 October 1946 to replace Japanese notes and notes circulated by the
Netherlands Indies Civil Administration (NICA). These notes (
Series 1) were in denominations of 1, 5, and 10 sen notes, plus ½, 1, 5, 10, and 100 rupiah notes. The notes include Maramis' signature as Minister of Finance or
Menteri Keuangan. Maramis would serve again as Minister of Finance consecutively in the
First Amir Sjarifuddin Cabinet on 3 July 1947, the
Second Amir Sjarifuddin Cabinet on 12 November 1947, and the
First Hatta Cabinet on 29 January 1948. During the Hatta administration on 19 December 1948, the Dutch started the military offensive
Operation Kraai. Sukarno, Hatta, and other government officials in
Yogyakarta were captured and exiled to
Bangka Island. Maramis was in
New Delhi,
India at the time. He received a wire from Hatta before being captured with instructions to form a government-in-exile in India should
Sjafruddin Prawiranegara not be able to form an emergency government in
Sumatra. Prawiranegara was able to form the
Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the
Sjafruddin Emergency Cabinet in which Maramis was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs. After Sukarno and Hatta were released, Prawiranegara returned control of the country to Hatta's cabinet on 13 July 1949 and Maramis returned to his position as Minister of Finance.
Ambassadorships Between 1950 and 1960, Maramis represented Indonesia as ambassador to four countries:
Finland, the
Philippines, the
Soviet Union, and
West Germany. Prior to these appointments on August 1, 1949, he was appointed as a Special Ambassador who was responsible for overseeing Indonesian representatives abroad. At that time, Indonesia had representative offices in
Bangkok,
Cairo,
Canberra,
Kabul,
Karachi,
London,
Manila,
New Delhi,
Penang,
Rangoon,
Singapore,
Washington, D. C., and at the
United Nations (UN) office at
Lake Success. Because his supervisory duties kept him abroad, he was included in the delegation of the Republic of Indonesia as an advisor to the
Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference that took place in
The Hague. On January 25, 1950, Maramis was appointed as the Indonesian Ambassador to the Philippines. He officially started the position on February 1, 1950. Maramis served as the Indonesian ambassador in Manila for three years. On 10 April 1953, Maramis was appointed as the Indonesian Ambassador to West Germany. He officially started the position on 1 May 1953. In early 1956, Maramis returned to Jakarta and served as Head of the Asia/Pacific Directorate at the
Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He held this position for only a few months, because he was then given a new assignment as Indonesian Ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1 October 1956. Two years later, Maramis was given the dual assignment as Indonesian Ambassador to Finland, but still based in Moscow. After completing his service as ambassador to the Soviet Union and Finland, Maramis and his family settled in
Switzerland. When he was about to return to Indonesia in 1976, he was living in
Lugano.
Death and legacy After almost 20 years living outside of Indonesia, Maramis expressed the desire to return to Indonesia. The Indonesian government arranged for his return and on 27 June 1976 he arrived in Jakarta. Among the greeters at the
airport were his old friends
Achmad Subardjo and
Arnold Mononutu, and also
Rachmi Hatta (the wife of
Mohammad Hatta). In May 1977, he was hospitalized after suffering a
cerebral hemorrhage. Maramis died on 31 July 1977 at
Gatot Soebroto Army Hospital, just 13 months after returning to Indonesia. He lay in state in the Pancasila room at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was then buried in the
Kalibata Heroes' Cemetery. == Awards and honors ==