39 Facts About Burhanuddin Harahap

Burhanuddin Harahap was an Indonesian politician and lawyer who served as prime minister of Indonesia from August 1955 until March 1956.

Burhanuddin Harahap was a member of the Masyumi Party and served as Minister of Defense concurrently with his tenure as prime minister.

Burhanuddin Harahap was born into a Batak family in North Sumatra.

Burhanuddin Harahap moved to Java to pursue higher education, becoming active in Islamic student organizations and enrolling in the Rechts Hogeschool in Batavia before his studies were interrupted by the Japanese invasion in 1942.

In 1953, Burhanuddin contributed to the collapse of Prime Minister Wilopo's cabinet and unsuccessfully attempted to form a new cabinet.

Burhanuddin Harahap 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.

Burhanuddin Harahap was born in Medan on 12 February 1917, the second child of Mohammad Yunus, a low-ranking official in a public prosecutor's office, and his wife Siti Nurfiah.

Burhanuddin Harahap followed his father's reassignments, and he went to a Hollandsch-Inlandsche School in Bagansiapiapi.

Burhanuddin Harahap continued his education at the Rechts Hogeschool, but his studies were interrupted by the Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies in 1942.

Burhanuddin Harahap later resumed his law degree at Gadjah Mada University, completing it in 1951.

Burhanuddin Harahap became a member of the Indonesian Students' Association.

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

Burhanuddin Harahap was appointed by Sutan Sjahrir to the Working Body of the Central Indonesian National Committee in 1946.

In 1952, Burhanuddin Harahap became a member of Masyumi's Executive Committee.

Burhanuddin Harahap was initially appointed Masyumi's representative to the Central Electoral Committee in April 1953 during the premiership of Wilopo, but disputes with the Indonesian National Party over the committee composition caused it to fail to convene.

Burhanuddin Harahap contributed to the collapse of the cabinet later that year, when he threatened to withdraw Masyumi's support for the government over a successful motion to establish formal diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union.

Burhanuddin Harahap attempted to form a cabinet without PNI by including the Christian and Catholic Parties, but the two parties refused to participate in a government that excluded PNI.

Burhanuddin Harahap's succeeding formateur, Wongsonegoro of the Great Indonesia Unity Party, managed to organize the First Ali Sastroamidjojo Cabinet which excluded Masyumi from ministerial posts.

Burhanuddin Harahap, who was a relative of acting army chief of staff Zulkifli Lubis, was then appointed the new formateur.

Burhanuddin Harahap's cabinet suffered from a divergence of objectives of its constituent parties.

An incident in December 1955 where Burhanuddin Harahap attempted to appoint an officer, Sujono, to the Indonesian Air Force high command resulted in the resignation of its chief of staff Soerjadi Soerjadarma.

Burhanuddin Harahap's cabinet engaged in rationalization efforts, reversing the economic policies of PNI in favor of a pragmatic approach that welcomed foreign and private capital into Indonesia.

In foreign policy, the Burhanuddin Harahap cabinet aimed to placate the concerns of the United States about Indonesia's relations with the communist bloc to gain American support in the Western New Guinea dispute.

Burhanuddin Harahap returned his mandate to Sukarno on 3 March 1956, and for the next three weeks, it served as a demissionary cabinet.

The Second Ali Sastroamidjojo Cabinet succeeded it and included both Masyumi and NU within the cabinet, but excluded most former ministers of the Burhanuddin Harahap government including Burhanuddin Harahap himself.

In early December 1957, Burhanuddin Harahap opted to flee Jakarta when he heard that he would be arrested.

Under the auspices of visiting a friend, Burhanuddin Harahap was in Padang in mid-January 1958, and along with other Masyumi leaders, he attended a conference at the town of Sungai Dareh with dissident military officers.

In later accounts, Burhanuddin Harahap claimed that the military officers were advocating Sumatran secession from Indonesia, which he and other civilian leaders opposed.

Burhanuddin Harahap was appointed as minister of defense and justice in the government's declared cabinet.

Burhanuddin Harahap later claimed that he was not fully in favor of forming a rival government, that he had only agreed to be appointed minister of home affairs simply so there could be a cabinet, and that the military officers had reassigned him without consultation.

PRRI soon was forced into guerilla warfare, with Burhanuddin Harahap being attached to Dahlan Djambek's northern sector based in Agam Regency.

Burhanuddin Harahap was initially brought to Medan after Natsir's surrender and was initially permitted to remain free.

Burhanuddin Harahap was brought back to Jakarta for continued imprisonment in 1964.

Burhanuddin Harahap would be released following the fall of Sukarno, being let out along with other Masyumi leaders in July 1966.

Burhanuddin Harahap himself did not show much interest in obtaining a party leadership position, instead turning to other fields.

Burhanuddin Harahap lobbied for the restoration of the Abadi daily newspaper, and later became its chief editor between 1968 and 1974.

Burhanuddin Harahap died in Jakarta's Harapan Kita Cardiac Hospital on 14 June 1987, after having suffered from heart problems since 1976.

Burhanuddin Harahap was described as a fan of tennis and sambal, the former since his time as a student in Yogyakarta.

Burhanuddin Harahap married Siti Bariyah, the daughter of a local official in Yogyakarta.