Yaumil Agoes Achir

Yaumil Chairiah Agoes Achir (born Yaumil Chairiah, 20 May 19411 July 2003) was an Indonesian psychologist who served as the Dean of University of Indonesia's Faculty of Psychology from 1990 to 1994 and as the Chief of the National Family Planning Coordinating Board from 2001 until her death in 2003.

Early life and education Yaumil was born on 20 May 1941 in Pangkalan Brandan as the fifth of nine children of Ilyas Sutan Maradjo, the chief of postal services in the Weh Island. All of her brothers and sisters have the same first name, Yaumil, with their second name being their given name. Yaumil's parents sent all of his children, who have completed primary education, to reside in their relative's house and continue their education in Jakarta. Yaumil was not an exception, and she was sent to study at the 10th State Junior High School in Jakarta in 1953 after completing elementary school in Weh Island. Yaumil described the separation from her parents as a "traumatic experience",

Yaumil completed her high school at the 1st (Boedoet) Jakarta State High School in 1959. Based on recommendation from Soedjono Djoened Poesponegoro (later Minister of National Research), she decided to major in psychology at the University of Indonesia (UI). She received her bachelor's degree from the university in 1967. Throughout her career as a lecturer, she pursued further studies in psychology by attending a short course on child psychology methodology in Nijmegen in 1975 and several postgraduate courses in psychology held by UI. In 1979, she received her specialty degree from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, as part of a cooperation program between the university and UI.

On 29 December 1990, Yaumil successfully defended her doctoral thesis in psychology. Her thesis, which researched talent and achievement among high school students, involves 2,809 students from two different high school in Jakarta.

In 1995, Yaumil attended a course at the National Resilience Institute while serving as assistant to the State Minister of Population Affairs, alongside other high-ranking military and civilian officials. She came out as the best graduate of her cohort.

Academic career Yaumil began her academic career in 1964 as an assistant to Professor Sukarni Catur Munandar, who would later become her doctoral advisor. During her tenure as dean, Yaumil was appointed as a full professor in psychology on 1 April 1993. She served as dean until 25 June 1994, when she was replaced by Suprapti Sumarmo.

Government career Yaumil began to be involved in government agencies since her appointment as the chair of education psychology . From 1980 to 1989, she was an expert consultant to the National Law Development Agency. She was also a member of a working group for children's welfare in the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare office and for adolescent family development in the State Minister for Women Affairs office. She was responsible for assisting the minister in matters relating to population quality development. After Haryono was appointed as the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare and Poverty Eradication, Yaumil became his deputy for human resources.

On 3 August 2000, Yaumil became the deputy secretary of Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri for people's welfare. She chaired the National Social Security System Working Group, which formulated the basis for the current Indonesia's social security program. A year later, Megawati became the president of Indonesia, and she appointed Yaumil as the Chief of the National Family Planning Coordinating Board on 14 November 2001.

Yaumil also initiated a program to distribute contraceptives for low-income couples in January 2003. The distribution of the contraceptives will be managed by provincial governments based on local requests. The program was hindered by the insufficient funds provided to cover all low-income couples.

Personal life Yaumil died at the Johns Hopkins-National University Hospital (NUH) International Medical Center in Singapore on 1 July 2003 due to Non-Hodgkin lymphoma cancer. Yaumil was diagnosed with the cancer around February 2003 and had to underwent chemotherapy in Singapore and treated at her home. Although she never went to her office since then, Yaumil continued working on family planning issues, such as decentralization. Her final birthday celebration on 20 May 2003 was attended by Sarlito Wirawan Sarwono, the-then dean of UI's psychology faculty, and Imam Haryadi, her deputy for family empowerment. Yaumil was also infected with pneumonia in her final days.