Second Sjahrir Cabinet

The second Sjahrir Cabinet (Indonesian: Kabinet Sjahrir Kedua) was the third Indonesian cabinet and the second formed by Sutan Sjahrir. It served from March to June 1946.

Second Sjahrir Cabinet
3rd Cabinet of Indonesia
Indonesian Government (Executive Branch)
Date formed	12 March 1946
Date dissolved	2 October 1946
People and organisations
Head of state	Sukarno
Head of government	Sutan Sjahrir
No. of ministers	26
Member party	Socialist Party of Indonesia Parkindo Masyumi Party Indonesian National Party
Status in legislature	Coalition
History
Predecessor	Sjahrir I
Successor	Sjahrir III

Background

The first Sjahrir cabinet had been forced to resign by Tan Malaka and his opposition Struggle Front. President Sukarno then offered this group the chance to form a new government, but it was unable to do so principally because of fears from other members of the group that Tan Malaka would try to replace Sukarno. Sukarno, with the support of the Central Indonesian National Committee (KNIP), then asked Sjahrir to form a new cabinet. The KNIP asked Sjahrir to form a cabinet including a wider range of opinion. Sjahrir agreed on the condition he would have the greater say in the choice of members. [1]

Composition

Ten of the members of the previous cabinet served in the new cabinet. It contained members from a range of political parties, but Sjahrir's group was still dominant.[2]

Portfolio	Minister		Took office	Left office	Party
Prime Minister Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister of Defense		Sutan Sjahrir	12 March 1946	2 October 1946	Socialist
Minister of Home Affairs		Soedarsono	12 March 1946	2 October 1946	Socialist
Minister of Justice		Soewandi	12 March 1946	22 June 1946	Independent
Minister of Finance		Soerachman Tjokroadisuryo	12 March 1946	2 October 1946	Independent
Minister of Agriculture and Supplies		Rasad	12 March 1946	26 June 1946	Independent
Minister of Trade and Industry		Darmawan Mangoenkoesoemo	12 March 1946	26 June 1946	Independent
Minister of Welfare		Darmawan Mangoenkoesoemo	26 June 1946	2 October 1946	Independent
Minister of Public Works		Poetoehena	12 March 1946	2 October 1946	Parkindo
Minister of Transportation		Abdoel Karim	12 March 1946	2 October 1946	Independent
Minister of Information		Mohammad Natsir	12 March 1946	2 October 1946	Masyumi
Minister of Social Affairs		Maria Ulfa Santoso (Perwari/PPI)	12 March 1946	2 October 1946	Independent
Minister of Health		Dr. Darma Setiawan	12 March 1946	2 October 1946	Independent
Minister of Education		Muhammad Sjafei	12 March 1946	2 October 1946	Independent
Minister of Religious Affairs		Mohammad Rasjidi	12 March 1946	2 October 1946	Masyumi
State Minister		Wikana	12 March 1946	2 October 1946	Independent
Junior Minister of Foreign Affairs		Agus Salim	12 March 1946	2 October 1946	Independent
Junior Minister of Defense		Arudji Kartawinata	12 March 1946	2 October 1946	Masyumi
Junior Minister of Justice		Hadi	12 March 1946	2 October 1946	Independent
Junior Minister of Finance		Sjafruddin Prawiranegara	12 March 1946	2 October 1946	Masyumi
Junior Minister of Agriculture and Supplies		Saksono	12 March 1946	2 October 1946	Socialist
Junior Minister of Communications		Djuanda	12 March 1946	2 October 1946	Independent
Junior Minister of Public Works		Herling Laoh	12 March 1946	2 October 1946	PNI
Junior Minister of Social Affairs		Abdul Madjid Djojoadiningrat	12 March 1946	2 October 1946	Socialist
Junior Minister of Health		Dr. Johannes Leimena	12 March 1946	2 October 1946	Parkindo
Junior Minister of Education		Todung Sutan Gunung Mulia	12 March 1946	2 October 1946	Parkindo

Changes

Minister of Justice Soewandi resigned on 22 June 1946 and four days later Minister of Agriculture and Supplies Rasad lost his job when the ministry he headed was merged into the Ministry of Trade and Industry, which later became the Ministry of Welfare. Darmawan Mangoenkoesoemo was appointed Minister of Welfare and Saksono as Junior Minister of Welfare.[3]

The end of the cabinet

The second Sjahrir cabinet fell because of the kidnapping of Sjahrir and Darmawan Mangoenkoesoemo on 27 June 1946 by soldiers commanded by General Sudarsono. Like other opposition forces, they believed the government had betrayed the ideal of total independence by negotiating with the Dutch and conceding de facto Dutch control over parts of Indonesia. The rest of the cabinet held a meeting chaired by Amir Sjarifuddin and proposed transferring all powers to Sukarno. The president took control of the government by a decree issued on 28 June. This decree returned Indonesia to a presidential system and dissolved the cabinet.[4][5][6]

References

• Kahin, George McTurnan (1952) Nationalism and Revolution in Indonesia Cornell University Press, ISBN 0-8014-9108-8
• Ricklefs (1982), A History of Modern Indonesia, Macmillan Southeast Asian reprint, ISBN 0-333-24380-3
• Simanjuntak, P. N. H. (2003), Kabinet-Kabinet Republik Indonesia: Dari Awal Kemerdekaan Sampai Reformasi (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Djambatan, pp. 29–41, ISBN 979-428-499-8.

Notes

1. Kahin (1952) p176
2. Kahin (1952) pp. 176-177
3. Simanjuntak (2003) pp. 31-32
4. Simanjuntak (2003) p32
5. Kahin (1952) pp. 188-189
6. Ricklefs (1982) p211