Early life and education of
Pontianak Ide Anak Agung Gde Agung was born in
Gianyar,
Bali, on 21 July 1921. He was the son of Raja Anak Gunung Ngurah Agung, the
Raja of
Gianyar. Since he was a small child, he was interested in history. He started his school education at the
Hollandsche-Inlandsche School, the equivalent of
elementary school. He then continued his education at
Meer Uitgebreid Lagere Onderwijs (MULO), the equivalent of
junior high school. After graduating from MULO, he continued his education at the
Algemeene Middelbare School, the equivalent of
high school. After that, he studied law at the
Rechtshogeschool (The predecessor of the law faculty of the
University of Indonesia), in
Batavia (now
Jakarta), and obtained a Doctorate of History in the Netherlands. On 23 August 1943, a year after the Japanese invaded, Anak Agung became the
Raja of
Gianyar, a month after he celebrated his twenty-second birthday, making him only 22 years old. This was after his father was suspected and detained by the Japanese Ministry for
treason.
Political career Anak Agung's role in politics began in the
State of East Indonesia (NIT). He served as
prime minister from December 1947 until December 1949. He also served as the premier for
Tjokorda Gde Raka Soekawati, a key figure in the
East Indonesian government based in
Sulawesi. In this role, he played a decisive part in the
Round Table Conference that finally led to Dutch recognition of Indonesia's independence. Following the transfer of sovereignty on 27 December 1949, Agung served as a member of the short-lived
Republic of the United States of Indonesia Cabinet, where he served as minister of the interior. Due to his Federalist sympathies, he politically feuded with
Sukarno, who advocated a
unitary Republic of Indonesia. Following the abolition of the federal system in 1950, he served as the Indonesian
ambassador to
Belgium, followed by successive appointments as ambassador to
Luxembourg,
Portugal,
France, and
Austria. During the Sukarno presidency, Agung served as Indonesia's
foreign minister between 1955 and 1956 and was a participant in the
West New Guinea dispute. Later, he was imprisoned by the Sukarno regime between 1962 and 1966 but was never brought to trial. Following the
1965 attempted coup and rise of
Suharto's
New Order regime, Ide Anak Agung Gde Agung was released by the new
Indonesian foreign minister Adam Malik, who also restored him to his senior position in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the New Order era, Agung served as Indonesia's ambassador to Austria. During his time overseas, Agung also authored
Twenty Years Indonesian foreign policy 1945–1965, a 660-page history of Indonesian foreign policy during the Sukarno era. In his book, Ide Anak Agung Gde Agung argued that Indonesian foreign policy was based on the principles of independence and action, which meant remaining independent of foreign powers. Agung also argued that Sukarno abandoned Indonesia's independent foreign policy by aligning Indonesia with China and embarking on a
policy of confrontation against Malaysia.
Death and legacy Ida Anak Agung Gde Agung died in
Gianyar,
Bali, indonesia, on 22 April 1999. Based on Presidential Decree No. 066/TK/2007, President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono bestowed the title of National Hero to several national figures, including Ida Anak Agung Gde Agung for his services in the
struggle for Indonesian Independence, specifically for his services in 1948 in establishing and being the main driver of the
Federal Consultative Assembly (PMF), the association of federal states and territories in Indonesia aimed at gathering political power to overcome various Dutch-Indonesian negotiations. He was also given the Bintang Mahaputra Adipradana award by the Indonesian government. A street in
Mega Kuningan business district in Jakarta is named after him. == Writings ==