21 May 1942 –23 February 1945
Hubertus Johannes "Huib" van Mook (30 May 1894 – 10 May 1965) was a Dutch administrator in the East Indies. During the Indonesian National Revolution, he served as the lieutenant governor-general of the Dutch East Indies from 1942 to 1948. [1] Van Mook also had a son named Cornelius van Mook who studied marine engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. [1] He also wrote about Java - and his work on Kota Gede is a good example of a colonial bureaucrat capable of examining and writing about local folklore.
Hubertus van Mook was born in Semarang in Central Java on 30 May 1894. As with many Dutch and Indos (people of European and Indonesian heritage) growing up in the East Indies, he came to regard the colony, particularly Java, as his home. [2] He studied Indology at Leiden University, and then returned to the Dutch East Indies. In 1931, he became a member of the Volksraad, the advisory body set up by the colonial administration. There he spoke in favour of greater autonomy for the Dutch East Indies and for equal treatment for different races. From 1937 to 1941 he was director of economic affairs. [3] On 29 December 1941, a royal decree named van Mook the successor to Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies Alidius Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer, and appointed him Lieutenant Governor=General. [4] Immediately prior to the surrender of the East Indies to the Japanese on 8 March 1942, the Dutch East Indies government in exile near Brisbane, Australia gave Van Mook authority over those areas still unoccupied by the Japanese. [5] However, two weeks later, he was relieved of his lieutenant-governorship and became Minister of Colonies. On 14 September 1944, after he persuaded the Dutch government in exile to establish a provisional East Indies government, he was reappointed Lieutenant Governor-General. [6] Due to his liberal inclinations and sympathies towards Indonesian nationalism, many conservative Dutch distrusted his policies and he was never given the full title of Governor-General. [7] Because of the weakened position of the Dutch due to the Nazi invasion and occupation, much of the task of retaking the East Indies following the Japanese surrender in August 1945 was carried out by Australian and British forces. While Australian forces succeeded in occupying the Outer Islands with minimal resistance, British forces in Java and Sumatra were challenged by a nascent Indonesian Republic led by Sukarno and Hatta.
On 1 October 1945, Van Mook arrived back in Java along with elements of the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration. However, their presence generated much outrage from much of the Indonesian populace who were opposed to the restoration of Dutch colonial rule. [2] With Dutch support being limited to Christian areas like Ambon and Manado, which were at that time (not before WWII) the chief sources of recruitment for the Royal Dutch East Indies Army., [8] even though the majority of Royal Dutch East Indies Army soldiers had always been Javanese Muslims, the largest ethnic group in the colony. Republican forces had taken control of Manado by February 1946, before being subdued by allied forces, and many Christian Manado and Ambonesse supported the Republic, including chief representative for the UN, Lambertus Nicodemus Palar, Leimena, Alexander Andries Maramis. On the other hand, many leading Dutch supporters were from Muslim areas, including Sultan Hamid II, Andi Azis, R. Abdulkadir Wijoyoatmojo (later chief Dutch negotiator in the talks leading to the Renville Agreement). While van Mook planned to grant independence to Indonesia, he advocated a federal Republic of the United States of Indonesia with strong political and economic ties to the Netherlands. He regarded Sukarno's Republic as economically inept and unable to ward off the Indonesian Chinese, Indonesian Indians and the rising Indonesian Communist Party, and began cultivating links with Indonesian leaders outside Java, particularly in west Java and eastern Indonesia. He organised a number of conferences aimed at offsetting the influence of the Republic. [9] [10]
The above factors and violations of the Linggadjati Agreement prompted the East Indies government to launch a police action in mid-1947, which was known as Operatie Product. The KNIL and Royal Netherlands Army occupied large areas of Java and Sumatra, with the Republican army offering only weak resistance. [11] However, the Dutch were held back from full conquest of the Republic by pressure from the UN Security Council and the United States, which called for a ceasefire. [12] This led to the announcement of a ceasefire in January 1948 followed by a formal armistice. As a consequence, a conflict previously considered to be an internal Dutch affair now took on an international dimension.
The Renville Agreement, as the armistice was called, stipulated the withdrawal of Indonesian forces from Dutch-occupied territory and the establishment of a ceasefire boundary known as the Van Mook Line. [13] Because of problems caused by the differing interests of regional leaders and opposition from elements of the Dutch military and government, in 1948 Van Mook resigned. [10] Meanwhile, some time after the ceasefire, the Indonesian military secretly returned and began guerrilla operations against the Dutch. This led to a second major Dutch police action known as Operatie Kraai in December 1948. [14]
Van Mook subsequently broke links with both Indonesia and his home country, and took a job with the United Nations. However, not long after this, he died in France. [10]
Honours | ||||
Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 29 August 1947 | Elevated from Commander | |
Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion | Netherlands | |||
Order of the Jade 3rd class | Republic of China | 22 July 1939 | ||
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Liberator | Venezuela | 22 August 1944 |
The Indonesian National Revolution, also known as the Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during postwar and postcolonial Indonesia. It took place between Indonesia's declaration of independence in 1945 and the Netherlands' transfer of sovereignty over the Dutch East Indies to the Republic of the United States of Indonesia at the end of 1949.
The police actions, were two major military offensives that the Netherlands carried out on Java and Sumatra against the Republic of Indonesia during its struggle for independence in the Indonesian National Revolution. In Indonesia they are collectively known as the Dutch Military Aggressions, although the less common translation Aksi Polisionil is also used.
The Linggardjati Agreement was a political accord concluded on 15 November 1946 by the Dutch administration and the unilaterally declared Republic of Indonesia in the village of Linggajati, Kuningan Regency, near Cirebon in which the Dutch recognised the republic as exercising de facto authority in Java, Madura, and Sumatra.
The Renville Agreement was a United Nations Security Council-brokered political accord between the Netherlands, which was seeking to re-establish its colony in Southeast Asia, and Indonesian Republicans seeking Indonesian independence during the Indonesian National Revolution. Ratified on 17 January 1948, the agreement was an unsuccessful attempt to resolve the disputes that arose following the 1946 Linggadjati Agreement. It recognised a cease-fire along the Status Quo Line or so-called "Van Mook Line", an artificial line that connected the most advanced Dutch positions.
The Roem–Van Roijen Agreement was an agreement made between Indonesian republicans and the Netherlands on 7 May 1949 at the Des Indes Hotel. The name was derived between the two principal negotiators at the meeting; Mohammad Roem and Jan Herman van Roijen. The purpose of the meeting was to iron out outstanding issues prior to Indonesian independence which was to be granted at the Round Table Conference at The Hague later that same year.
Operation Kraai was a Dutch military offensive against the de facto Republic of Indonesia in December 1948, following the failure of negotiations. With the advantage of surprise, the Dutch managed to capture the Indonesian Republic's temporary capital, Yogyakarta, and seized Indonesian leaders such as de facto Republican President Sukarno. This apparent military success was, however, followed by guerrilla warfare, while the violation of the Renville Agreement ceasefire diplomatically isolated the Dutch. This led to the Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference and recognition of the United States of Indonesia.
The Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference was held in The Hague from 23 August to 2 November 1949, between representatives of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Indonesia and the Federal Consultative Assembly, representing various states the Dutch had created in the Indonesian archipelago.
Operation Product was a Dutch military offensive against areas of Java and Sumatra controlled by the de facto Republic of Indonesia during the Indonesian National Revolution. It took place between 21 July and 4 August 1947. Referred to by the Dutch as the first politionele actie, in Indonesia, the military offensive is more commonly known in Indonesian history books and military records as Agresi Militer Belanda I.
The Malino Conference was organised by the Dutch in the Sulawesi town of Malino from 16 to 25 July 1946 as part of their attempt to arrange a federal solution for Indonesia. From the end of World War II, Indonesian Republicans had been trying to secure Indonesian Independence from the Dutch colonial control.
The Federal Consultative Assembly, was a committee established on 8 July 1948 to discuss the form of the planned federal United States of Indonesia. Its membership comprised the leaders of the various federal states established by the Dutch in the areas they occupied following their attack on the areas of Indonesia controlled by republican forces during the Indonesian National Revolution (1945–1949). It took part in negotiations with the Dutch in August and September 1948, and participated in the Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference at which the Dutch agreed to hand over sovereignty to the United States of Indonesia.
The Makassar Uprising, also known as Andi Aziz rebellion, was a skirmish in Makassar, Sulawesi, between former Royal Dutch East Indies Army soldiers under Captain Andi Aziz and the Republic of the United States of Indonesia government. The purpose of the uprising was to revolt against the incorporation of the Indonesian federated "states" into the Indonesian Republic. However, the uprising was quashed in a little over two weeks when troops under Lieutenant Colonel Suharto and Colonel Alexander Evert Kawilarang arrived at Makassar to find only light resistance.
The Rawagede massacre, was committed by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army on 9 December 1947 in the village of Rawagede. Forces of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army were battling Indonesian Republican army fighters TNI and militia forces seeking independence for Indonesia. Almost all males from the village, amounting to 431 men according to most estimates, were killed by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army, since the people of the village would not tell them where the Indonesian independence fighter Lukas Kustaryo was hiding.
The governor-general of the Dutch East Indies represented Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949.
The Netherlands Indies Civil Administration was a semi-military organisation, established in April 1944, tasked with the restoration of civil administration and law of Dutch colonial rule after the capitulation of the Japanese occupational forces in the Dutch East Indies at the end of World War II.
The State of Pasundan was a federal state (negara bagian) formed in the western part of the Indonesian island of Java by the Netherlands in 1948 following the Linggadjati Agreement. It was similar to the geographical area now encompassed by the current provinces of West Java, Banten and Jakarta.
The United States of Indonesia was a short-lived federal state to which the Netherlands formally transferred sovereignty of the Dutch East Indies on 27 December 1949 following the Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference. This transfer ended the four-year conflict between Indonesian nationalists and the Netherlands for control of Indonesia. It lasted less than a year, before being replaced by the unitary Republic of Indonesia.
The State of Madura was a federal state (negara bagian) formed on the Indonesian island of Madura by the Netherlands in 1948 as part of an attempt to reestablish the colony of the Dutch East Indies during the Indonesian National Revolution. It included Madura and neighbouring islands that now form part of the current province of East Java.
The Denpasar Conference was held from 7–24 December 1946 at the Hotel Bali, Denpasar and resulted in the establishment of the State of East Indonesia, part of the United States of Indonesia.
The Cabinet of the State of East Indonesia served as the central government apparatus of the State of East Indonesia, headed by a prime minister who were appointed by the head of state. During the three-year lifetime of the state between 24 December 1946 and 27 December 1949, there were eight cabinets in total, headed by six different prime ministers.
Raden Abdulkadir Widjojoatmodjo was a military officer, diplomat, and high-ranking official of the Dutch East Indies until his death on December 24th, 1992.