Burhanuddin Harahap

Burhanuddin Harahap (EVO: Boerhanoeddin Harahap; 12 February 1917 – 14 June 1987) was an Indonesian politician and lawyer who served as prime minister of Indonesia from August 1955 until March 1956. He was a member of the Masyumi Party and served as Minister of Defense concurrently with his tenure as prime minister. Afterward, he took part in the unsuccessful Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia (PRRI) rebellion in West Sumatra.

He was born into a Batak family in North Sumatra. He moved to Java to pursue higher education, becoming active in Islamic student organizations and enrolling in the Rechts Hogeschool in Batavia (now Jakarta) before his studies were interrupted by the Japanese invasion in 1942. During the Japanese occupation, he served as a public prosecutor in state courts in Jakarta and Yogyakarta. Following the proclamation of Indonesian independence, he became more involved in politics, joining Masyumi and rising through its ranks to become a prominent party member, becoming the leader of Masyumi's parliamentary faction by 1950.

In 1953, Burhanuddin contributed to the collapse of Prime Minister Wilopo's cabinet and unsuccessfully attempted to form a new cabinet. After the downfall of Prime Minister Ali Sastroamidjojo's first cabinet, he was given another chance and formed a caretaker government with the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and several minor political parties. As prime minister, Burhanuddin reversed many of his predecessor's policies. He adopted a pragmatic economic policy, abolishing the pro-indigenous Benteng program, while seeking to remove the influence of the Indonesian National Party and Indonesian Communist Party from the military and government. Additionally, his government initiated some measures towards Acehnese autonomy and dissolved the Netherlands-Indonesian Union in 1956. The poor performance of Masyumi in the 1955 election, however, weakened the cabinet's political position and alliance with NU. In the last weeks of his government, international negotiations over the Western New Guinea dispute broke down the coalition, with his tenure ending in March 1956.

Political tensions forced him to flee to Sumatra in 1957, and he joined PRRI upon its declaration in February 1958. Within PRRI, Burhanuddin was appointed minister of defense and justice in the revolutionary government's declared cabinet. Following continued military setbacks of the movement, the movement's leaders retreated into the jungles and mountains, and by August 1961 Burhanuddin had surrendered to authorities. Initially permitted to remain free, he was arrested in March 1962 and imprisoned until Sukarno's fall in 1966. Following his release, he largely left politics, although he took part in the 1980 Petition of Fifty documents, which criticized President Suharto's use of Pancasila against political opponents before he died in 1987.

Early life and career Burhanuddin was born in Medan on 12 February 1917, (His biographies state 12 February, He later resumed his law degree at Gadjah Mada University, completing it in 1951.)

During his time in Yogyakarta, Burhanuddin joined the Jong Islamieten Bond in 1936, becoming its activist and local chair. When he moved to Batavia, he became the secretary of the Studenten Islam Studie-Club, an organization that had split off from the Bond in 1934. He also became a member of the .

Early political career

Between 1942 and 1948, Burhanuddin served as a public prosecutor in the Jakarta State Court and later the Yogyakarta State Court.

Later life and death After his release, there were attempts by former Masyumi leaders to reform the party – and Burhanuddin along with the other leaders attended a meeting of Parmusi in August 1968. However, it soon became clear that Suharto would not accept a Parmusi under Masyumi's leadership, rejecting the party's leadership as elected by members in a November 1968 congress. Burhanuddin himself did not show much interest in obtaining a party leadership position, instead turning to other fields. He lobbied for the restoration of the Abadi daily newspaper, and later became its chief editor between 1968 and 1974. He was also active in the Indonesian Dakwah Council. In 1980, Suharto gave a speech decrying communism and religion as "discredited philosophies", and promoted Pancasila in their place. This caused a backlash from both Muslim groups and the armed forces, and many retired figures including Burhanuddin came together to sign the "Petition of Fifty" on 13 May 1980. The petition condemned Suharto's use of Pancasila as a political weapon against opposition.

He died in Jakarta's Harapan Kita Cardiac Hospital on 14 June 1987, after having suffered from heart problems since 1976. He was buried in the Tanah Kusir Cemetery.

Personal life and family Burhanuddin was described as a fan of tennis and sambal, the former since his time as a student in Yogyakarta. He married Siti Bariyah, the daughter of a local official in Yogyakarta. The couple is known to have a son and a daughter, and no grandchildren at the time of Burhanuddin's death.