T. Jusuf Muda Dalam

Teuku Jusuf Muda Dalam (10 December 1914 – 26 August 1976) was an Indonesian journalist and politician who served as the Governor of Bank Indonesia, Indonesia's central bank, from 1963 to 1966.

Originating from Aceh, he studied in the Netherlands where he developed communist ties, became active in journalism, and took part in the Dutch resistance. After returning to Indonesia, he for a time was a member of the Indonesian Communist Party, until he moved to the Indonesian National Party in 1954. He led the party newspaper Suluh Indonesia and became leader of Bank Negara Indonesia, before being appointed BI governor in 1963. After Sukarno's fall, he was removed from power in 1966, sentenced to death on corruption charges, and died as a prisoner.

Early life and education Dalam was born in Sigli, Aceh on 10 December 1914. He moved to the Netherlands for studies in 1929, went to the Netherlands School of Economics and became active in the Roepi Indonesian student organization where he served as its vice-chairman and managed the organization's magazine. During the German occupation of the Netherlands, Dalam took part in the Dutch resistance, managing the underground newspaper De Bevrijding ("Liberation") in Rotterdam. He developed relations with the Communist Party of the Netherlands, and became a journalist for the party's newspaper De Waarheid. He returned to Indonesia in March 1947.

Career After his return to Indonesia, he joined the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), and worked in the propaganda department of the Indonesian Ministry of Defense. In 1950, he had been released, and along with I. J. Kasimo was tasked with an investigation of land use in East Sumatra. He later left PKI, and joined the Indonesian National Party (PNI) in 1954. At that time, he was already a member of the Provisional People's Representative Council. In the midst of the Western New Guinea dispute, president Sukarno appointed Dalam into the National Economic Command in April 1962, before he was appointed as State Minister for Central Bank Affairs (i.e. Central Bank Governor) in the Third Working Cabinet on 13 November 1963. He would maintain this position until his replacement on 27 March 1966 by Radius Prawiro in the Second Revised Dwikora Cabinet. During this three-year tenure, he consolidated all state-owned banks, including Bank Indonesia and Bank Negara Indonesia, into a single institution, ostensibly to make it easier to manage. Newspapers at that time reported that Dalam had multiple mistresses who enjoyed luxurious lifestyles. On top of his corruption charge, he was also accused of illegal firearms possession, subversion, and extralegal marriage. Dalam was sentenced to death on 8 April 1967, making him the first, and as of 2022 the only, Indonesian politician to be sentenced to death on corruption charges. His appeals were rejected.