Poedjono Pranyoto

Poedjono Pranyoto (6 August 19362 December 2021) was an Indonesian military officer and politician who served as the governor of Lampung from 1988 until 1997 and the deputy speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly from 1997 until 1999.

Early life Poedjono was born on 6 August 1936 in Purwokerto, Dutch East Indies. He was the sixth child of Ahmad Wignjo Pranyoto and Umi Khalsum. His father worked as a post office clerk.

Military career After graduating from the Purwokerto Senior High School in 1958, Poedjono entered the Military Engineers Academy. He finished his education in 1961 and became a first lieutenant. His first assignment was as an instructor at the Army Engineers Academy. Afterwards, he was rotated to various posts in combat engineers battalion.

He reached the rank of lieutenant colonel after being appointed the commander of the 4th Combat Engineers' Battalion in Central Java. He was reposted after three years serving as a battalion commander and became the commander of the Cilacap Military District for about two years. A presidential decree enacted six years after his retirement promoted him to the honorary rank of lieutenant general on 1 September 1997.

Political career

During his tenure as the regent of Cilacap, Poedjono revived the Sedekah Laut (Sea Thanksgiving) tradition in 1982, an ancient annual tradition which dates back to 1817 and involves washing away various offerings to the sea.

Poedjono was re-elected and installed for a second term as regent on 19 November 1984. At the end of his second term, in July 1987, around 200 Cilacap fishermen committed strike action to protest against bottom trawling. The strike ended after Poedjono promised to ban the practice.

After about eight years serving as a regent, Poedjono was appointed the vice governor of Irian Jaya (now Papua), replacing Sugiyono who was removed amid rumours of bitter conflict between him and the governor, Izaac Hindom. He held this post for a brief period, as in early 1988 he was already nominated by the government as a candidate for the governor of Lampung. The council approved his nomination and he was installed as governor of Lampung on 11 May 1988. He was reelected as governor on 12 April 1993 and was installed for a second term on 11 May 1993.

At the start of his term as governor, Poedjono introduced sumbay, or the five principles of the Lampung society. Sumbay was later compressed down to a motto titled Gerbang Sakai Sambayan, which means the spirit of cooperation. According to news reporter Heri Wardoyo, Poedjono based his policies on the sumbay principles.

Poedjono's second term was cut short by a year, as on 3 October 1997 he was elected as the deputy speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly. A new parliament was formed following the 1999 legislative election and Poedjono resigned from the People's Consultative Assembly in 1999. He was buried at the Jeruk Purut Cemetery.

Personal life Poedjono was married to Sri Mulyati Wahyuningsih. The couple has three children.