Ali Sastroamidjojo

Raden (Lord) Dr. Ali Sastroamidjojo, (EYD: Ali Sastroamijoyo; 21 May 1903 – 13 March 1976) was the eighth and tenth Prime Minister of Indonesia and also the Indonesian Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) (1957-1960) and the first Indonesian Ambassador to the United States, Ambassador to Canada and the Ambassador to Mexico (1950-1955). In addition, he was also appointed chairman of the Asian-African Conference in Bandung in 1955 and also became chairman of the political party PNI (1960-1966).

Raden (Lord) Ali Sastroamidjojo was a nobleman born in Grabag, Central Java, Dutch East Indies (the Dutch-Colonial name of what is now known as Indonesia), to an aristocratic family of the Magelang Regency belonging to the Indonesian elite, and died in Jakarta, 13 March 1976.

Ali Sastroamidjojo is greeted by Zhou Enlai upon his arrival in Beijing, 26 May 1955.

Ali Sastroamidjojo spent his childhood years in the local town, playing with his friends from peasant families. In hoping to find a proper environment for the development of their children, the Sastroamidjojo family moved to the city where Sastroamidjojo was sent to receive a European education, although he regularly learned the Javanese language too. The Sastroamidjojo family was devoted to advocating the importance of Western education.

Like most other young men of nobility in Indonesia, Sastroamidjojo attended a Dutch school, the Queen Wilhelmina School, and went on to study law at Leiden University in the Netherlands where he received a doctorate in law.

Sastroamidjojo was the only person to have twice been Prime Minister of Indonesia. He was therefore in charge of two Cabinets of Indonesia: First Ali Sastroamidjojo Cabinet and Second Ali Sastroamidjojo Cabinet.

Sastroamidjojo was a key figure in the negotiations of the Sino-Indonesian Dual Nationality Treaty.

Ali Sastroamidjojo has been called 'the greatest statesman' of Indonesia and that 'the current statesmen of Indonesia will never be as great as Sastroamidjojo in his role as prime minister who also had great literary talent'.

The current Embassy of Indonesia in Washington, D.C. was purchased by Ali Sastroamidjojo on 19 December 1951 for $335.000.

In addition to being a political figure, he was also a noted author having published several books and publications in the field of international relations and foreign policy, including Introduction to International Law (1971), Indonesian Foreign Policy (1972), an autobiographical book of his journey and milestones (1974), and Four Indonesian students in the Netherlands (1975).