Provisional Senate of East Indonesia


The Provisional Senate of East Indonesia was the upper house of the parliament of State of East Indonesia, a component of the United States of Indonesia. The Senate existed from May 1949 to August 1950, when the State of East Indonesia was dissolved to the unitary Republic of Indonesia.

Background

The State of East Indonesia was formed in the Great East, the area of the Dutch East Indies that the Dutch were able to reassert control over following the Japanese surrender and the Indonesian declaration of independence in August 1945. From 18–24 December 1946, a conference in Denpasar was held to work out the specifics of the state, including producing a provisional constitution, which included provision for a senate with unspecified powers. The senate was later formed based on the 1948 Provisional Senate Act.

Powers

This provisional Senate had the duty to approve the draft constitution drawn up by the Provisional Representative Body. After the planned constitution was enacted, the senate would have been dissolved, to make way for a definitive Senate, to be put together in accordance with the rules laid down in the constitution. The definitive senate would then give its opinion on the Constitution in a second reading. The definitive senate would have been given a broader scope compared to the Provisional Senate. As the constitution was never promulgated, the definitive senate was never formed.

Members

Elections for members of the senate were completed in May 1949. There were 13 seats in the Senate, with one seat for each region of East Indonesia. The body was officially inaugurated by the President of East Indonesia, Tjokorda Gde Raka Soekawati, on 28 May 1949.
NoNameConstituencyPositionReferences
1Iskandar Muhammad Jabir ShahNorth MalukuSultan of Ternate
2HasjimLombokRegent of Central Lombok
3Gusti Ngurah KantaBaliHead of the Denpasar self-governing region
4Obe Alfonsus NisnoniTimor and surrounding islandsRaja of Kupang
5Umbu Tunggu MbiliSumbaRaja of Memboro
6Bapa KajaFloresChair of the Adonara Council of Rajas
7Lalu MandjawakangSumbawaMember of the Sumbawa Council of Rajas
8Achmad MarzoekiSouth Sulawesi
9Johan ManusamaSouth MalukuHeadmaster of the Amboina Senior High School
10W.A. SarapilSangihe and TalaudRegent of Sangihe
11Syukuran Aminuddin AmirCentral SulawesiRaja of Banggai
12Peils Maurits TangkilisanMinahasaHead of Amurang District
13H. J. C. ManoppoNorth SulawesiChairman of the Bolaang-Mongondouw Council of Rajas