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Mohammad Hatta (August 12, 1902 - March 14, 1980) was born in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). He was Indonesia's first vice president, after being the country's Prime Minister. Known as "The Proclamator", he and a number of Indonesians, including the first president of Indonesia, Sukarno, fought for the independence of Indonesia from the Dutch East Indies. Despite his effort to gain Indonesian independence, he had studied in the Netherlands since 1921 until 1932. Moreover, since his early education, he studied in Netherlands-based school in Indonesia.
Mohammad Hatta's name often remembered as Bung Hatta ('Bung' is an affectionate title used to address colleagues, popular in early 1900s) and is still used by Indonesians.
Mohammad Hatta
Early life
Education
Independence struggle
See also
| | Name | Mohammad Hatta | | image |  | | Order | 1st List of Vice Presidents of Indonesia | | Term Start | 18 August 1945 | | Term End | 1 December 1956 | | President | Sukarno | | Predecessor | Position established | | Successor | Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX | | Birth Date | August 12, 1902 top
Early life
He was born on Sumatra into Haji Mohammad Djamil's family and was the only male in the family. His first school was a Netherlands-based school, MULO (Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs or Dutch colonial secondary school). Since then, Hatta interested in many youth organisations, mostly for Indonesians, such as Jong Java, Jong Sumatranen Bond and Jong Ambon. Later, he joined Jong Sumatranen, because that was his favourite organisation on Sumatra.
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Education
Interested in economics, he went to the Netherlands to study at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam in 1921. There, he joined the Indonesian independence movement known as Indonesische Verenigingand, which later changed to Perhimpunan Indonesia. Hatta also edited the journal Indonesia Merdeka, previously known as Hindia Poetra. In 1924, he finished his studies in economics and planned to gain his doctoral degree in the same subject. However, he changed his plan to join the School of National and Administration Law, which was opened for the first time. As a result, his contribution to Perhimpunan Indonesia had decreased. Although he was passively contributing to PI, the organisation decided to propose him as the leader of the organisation in 1926. This decision later changed the form of PI, from a conventional students organisation into a political organisation, which had helped Indonesia to gain it's independence.
Since 1926, Mohammad Hatta lead the organisation to many international congress, mostly in the Europe, including the International Democratic Cogress for Peace in Bierville, France. Moreover, he was the lead speaker for the organisation. Following the intention to popularise Indonesian archipelago to the international world, Hatta started to use the name "Indonesia" rather than East Indies. He also met many prominent nationalists, such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Hafiz Ramadhan Bey and Senghor.
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Independence struggle
He was arrested in 1927 by the Dutch, tried, but released. Hatta returned to Sumatra in 1932. He became chairman of the Pendidikan Nasional Indonesia, a nationalist organization. For his activities, Hatta was again arrested by the Dutch and exiled in 1935. He was freed by the Japanese early in 1942 when they occupied Indonesia. Hatta and Sukarno, another nationalist leader, decided to cooperate with the Japanese to further the purpose of Indonesian independence. In Aug., 1945, Hatta and Sukarno joined in proclaiming the birth of the independent Republic of Indonesia. Sukarno became president and Hatta was vice president. The Dutch resisted the nationalists, and Hatta became premier and defense minister in 1948 to direct the fight against the Dutch troops. Again imprisoned by the Dutch in 1949, Hatta was released to head a delegation to the Hague and there successfully negotiated a settlement. He was (1949–50) again prime minister before serving (1950–56) as vice president of the republic; he resigned 1956 after a dispute with Sukarno. Hatta withdrew from political life and devoted himself primarily to the cooperative movement in Indonesia. After Sukarno’s fall from power, Hatta returned to government service as an adviser to President Suharto.
He is widely known as a humble leader and the conscience of the nation.
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport is named in his honor.
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See also
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