Nationalist Supeni dies at 86
Nationalist Supeni dies at 86
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Supeni, a veteran politician and former deputy foreign minister
who has long been linked to the erstwhile Indonesian National
Party (PNI), died at the age of 86 on Friday morning at the Pelni
Petamburan hospital after battling complications following a
stroke.
She is survived by her four children -- Sonny Sumarsono, 65,
Puji Kusumaningtyas, 60, Ardi Saputro, 55, and Agus Supartono,
52.
Supeni was one of the closest aides of founding president
Sukarno, the father of Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Born in Tuban, East Java, on August 17, 1917, Supeni witnessed
firsthand, the struggle for independence and the government of
five presidents -- Sukarno from 1945 to 1967, Soeharto from 1967
to 1998, B.J. Habibie from 1998 to 1999, Abdurrahman Wahid from
1999 to 2001 and Megawati from 2001 until today.
After finishing school in Tuban, she moved to Blitar, where
she became a political activist.
Supeni became active in political organizations such as the
Indonesian Women's Union (Perwari) and the Indonesian Women's
Congress (Kowani) in the 1940s.
The Dutch administration expelled Supeni from school, fearing
that her political views could influence others to rebel.
Supeni was know to be very idealistic and rejected an offer by
the Dutch to work at a government forestry office.
"During the Dutch colonial era, PNI struggled for
independence. In the earlier days after independence, PNI
struggled to maintain independence," she once said.
Supeni was appointed ambassador-at-large in 1960 and deputy
foreign minister in 1964.
She was also a member of the People's Consultative Assembly
(MPR) representing the PNI in 1972.
Under president Soeharto, the PNI was forced to disband and
merge others to create the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).
On Oct. 26, 1996, Supeni revived the PNI which she declared in
June 1998 after Soeharto's downfall. Her party, however, was
popularly known as PNI Supeni because several political parties
decided to call themselves PNI.
Supeni was married to Akhmad Natakusumah, a member of the
Sundanese royal family, who died in 1999.