Besar Mertokusumo
| Mr. Besar Mertokusumo | |
|---|---|
 Besar Mertokusumo (unknown year) | |
| Born |
July 8, 1894 Brebes, Dutch East Indies |
| Died | c. 1980 (age 86) |
| Resting place | Giritama Cemetery, Bogor, Indonesia |
| Nationality | Indonesian |
| Alma mater | Leiden University |
| Occupation | Advocate |
| Spouse(s) | Raden Ayu Majatoen |
| Children | 4 |
Besar Mertokusumo (also spelled Besar Martokusumo; 8 July 1894 – c. 1980) was an Indonesian advocate, said by Daniel S. Lev to be the first.
Early life and education
Mertokusumo was born in Brebes, Central Java, Dutch East Indies on 8 July 1894[1] to a prosecutor and his wife;[2] he was the first of two children. [3] He attended elementary school at a Europeesche Lagere School in Pekalongan, graduating in 1909.[1] He then attended the Rechtschool in Batavia, which he graduated in 1915;[1] there, he lived with numerous other Indonesian students under the supervision of a Dutchwoman, studying criminal law.[3] After several years as the Official Seconded (Dutch: Ambtenaar Ter Beschikking) at the Landraad (state court) in Pekalongan, he received a grant to go to Leiden, Netherlands, to study at Leiden University together with eleven others.[1][3] He graduated in 1922.[1]
Legal and political career
After being refused equal legal status with the Dutch, Mertokusumo decided to become an advocate.[4] He later established a law firm in Tegal, not far from his family in Brebes;[5] at the time, there were few Dutch lawyers there.[6] Despite a lack of support from his family,[4] after a few years he was able to open a second branch in Semarang, attracting young lawyers to his firm with wages up to 600 gulden a month.[5]
During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, Mertokusumo served as the mayor of Tegal in April 1942; he was the first Native Indonesian mayor.[1] In 1944 he became the regent of Tegal Regency.[1] Towards the end of the Japanese occupation, he joined the Committee for Preparatory Work for Indonesian Independence and became the Assistant Resident of Pekalongan.[1]
After independence, Mertokusumo served as secretary general of the Department of Justice.[1]
Mertokusumo died at age 86.[7] He is buried in Giritama Cemetery, Bogor.[7]
Legacy
American scholar of Indonesia Daniel S. Lev has called Mertokusumo Indonesia's first advocate,[8] noting that he often represented poor Indonesian defendants in the Landraad, where they would be forced to sit on the floor.[5] Lev writes that Mertokusumo "broke the ice" for Indonesian advocates.[4]
On 17 August 1992, Mertokusumo received the Bintang Mahaputra posthumously for his legal work.[7]
Personal life
Mertokusumo was married to Raden Ayu Majatoen, with whom he had four children.[1]
References
- Footnotes
- Bibliography
- Bahari, Adib (2011). Pendekar Hukum Indonesia [Indonesian Legal Giants] (in Indonesian). Yogyakarta: Pustaka Yustisis. ISBN 978-979-3411-04-0.
- Lev, Daniel (2000). Legal Evolution and Political Authority in Indonesia: Selected Essays. Boston: Kluwer Law International. ISBN 978-90-411-1421-1.