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Sukarno
Historical figureID1901-1970

Sukarno

First President of Indonesia (1945-1967) · Founder of the Indonesian Nationalist Party

Leader of Indonesia's independence struggle and its first president. He devised Pancasila, replaced parliamentary politics with Guided Democracy and leaned on both the army and the communists until 1965.

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Profile on 12 axes8 of 12 documented
ECONOMYSTATESOCIETYWORLDOwnershipMarketsWelfareAuthoritySecurityStructureMoralityReligionTechnologyCultureTradeForeign
Where they stood

Sukarno, axis by axis

  1. 01Ownership-55
    PublicPrivate

    He spoke of building a socialist Indonesia and of ending neocolonialism.

  2. 02Markets-55
    PlannedFree

    He spoke of building a socialist Indonesia and of ending neocolonialism.

  3. 03Welfare-40
    SharedSelf-reliant

    Social justice was one of the five Pancasila principles.

  4. 04Authority+75
    DemocraticStrong leader
  5. 05Security+50
    LibertyOrder
  6. 06StructureNo clear record
    LocalCentral
  7. 07MoralityNo clear record
    ProgressiveTraditional
  8. 08Religion0
    SecularReligious

    Pancasila put belief in one God at its core, but the Jakarta Charter that would have bound Muslims to Islamic law was dropped. He argued that Islam, nationalism and Marxism were compatible. Neutral.

  9. 09TechnologyNo clear record
    EmbraceCaution
  10. 10CultureNo clear record
    MulticulturalNational identity
  11. 11Trade+50
    GlobalProtected

    Indonesia left the IMF and World Bank in 1965 and he sought autarky from the old Western order. Moderately toward protection.

  12. 12Foreign policy+15
    CooperationStrength

    He led non-aligned and anti-Western campaigns, seized West Irian and waged a military confrontation with Malaysia, yet his stated goals were against colonialism. Mildly toward strength.

4 axes have no clear record, so matching leaves them out.

Who was Sukarno?

Sukarno was born in Surabaya in 1901 and trained as an engineer in Bandung. In 1927 he founded the Indonesian Nationalist Party, and the Dutch jailed and exiled him in the 1930s. In June 1945 he set out the Pancasila, five principles for the new state, and on 17 August 1945 he proclaimed independence and became president. Parliamentary rule gave way in 1959 to Guided Democracy under the 1945 Constitution, which gave the president sweeping power. He lost authority after the events of 30 September 1965, was sidelined by General Suharto and died under house arrest in 1970.

Political views

  • Set out Pancasila in June 1945: belief in one supreme God, justice and civility among peoples, Indonesian unity, democracy through deliberation and social justice.Source: indonesia-investments.com
  • Argued in the 1920s that Islam and communism were not incompatible, an idea he later formalized as Nasakom, a union of nationalism, religion and communism.Source: encyclopedia.com
  • Blamed the country's troubles on Western-style democracy and proposed Guided Democracy, with decisions by consensus rather than majority vote.Source: ebsco.com
  • In 1959 reinstated the 1945 Constitution, dissolved the elected parliament and banned the Masjumi and PSI parties.Source: encyclopedia.com
  • Pursued control of western New Guinea and, from 1962 to 1966, a Confrontation with Malaysia that he called a continuation of colonialism.Source: indonesia-investments.com
  • Balanced the army against the Indonesian Communist Party and relied more on Soviet and Chinese aid, which strengthened the party.Source: ebsco.com
  • Withdrew Indonesia from the IMF and World Bank in 1965 and from the United Nations when Malaysia was admitted.Source: indonesia-investments.com

Legacy

Indonesians honor Sukarno as the voice of independence who united a vast archipelago of diverse peoples around Pancasila. Admirers also credit his anti-colonial campaigns, including the transfer of western New Guinea to Indonesia. Critics fault his turn to Guided Democracy, which ended elected parliamentary government, and an economy that had reached extremely precarious levels by 1965. After the 30 September 1965 killings of six generals, an anti-communist purge followed in which estimates of the dead run from 100,000 to 1 million, while Sukarno himself was never charged but was sidelined by Suharto and held under house arrest until his death.

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Sukarno: questions

What is Pancasila?

Pancasila is the five-principle state philosophy Sukarno set out in June 1945: belief in one supreme God, justice and civility among peoples, Indonesian unity, democracy through consensus and social justice.

What was Guided Democracy?

From 1959 Sukarno replaced the parliamentary system with Guided Democracy, a return to the 1945 Constitution that gave the president near-unlimited power and sought decisions by consensus instead of majority votes.

Was Sukarno a communist?

No. He allied with Indonesia's communists through Nasakom, a union of nationalism, religion and communism, but he built his politics on nationalism and Pancasila.

Sources