Ali Alatas

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Indonesian diplomat (1932–2008)

title: "Ali Alatas" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1932-births", "2008-deaths", "sundanese-people", "indonesian-muslims", "indonesian-people-of-arab-descent", "indonesian-people-of-yemeni-descent", "people-from-jakarta", "permanent-representatives-of-indonesia-to-the-united-nations-in-geneva", "foreign-ministers-of-indonesia", "hadhrami-people", "honorary-officers-of-the-order-of-australia", "ba'-alawi-tribe"] description: "Indonesian diplomat (1932–2008)" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Alatas" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Indonesian diplomat (1932–2008) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

FieldValue
nameAli Alatas
imageSixth Development Cabinet Poster (Ali Alatas).jpg
captionOfficial portrait, 1993
order1st
officeChairperson of the Presidential Advisory Council
term_start10 April 2007
term_end11 December 2008
presidentSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono
predecessorOffice established
successorT. B. Silalahi
order113th
office1Minister of Foreign Affairs (Indonesia)Minister of Foreign Affairs
term_start121 March 1988
term_end120 October 1999
predecessor1Mochtar Kusumaatmadja
president1Suharto
B. J. Habibie
successor1Alwi Shihab
birth_date
birth_placeBatavia, Dutch East Indies
death_date
death_placeMount Elizabeth Hospital, Singapore
restingplaceKalibata Heroes' Cemetery
occupationDiplomat
spouseJunisa Wolff Alatas
childrenSoraya Alatas Soegarda, Nadira Alatas Sriwijanarko
Fawzia Alatas-Patompo
native_nameعلي العطاس
native_name_langar
relationsWitjaksana Soegarda (son-in-law)
::

| name = Ali Alatas | image = Sixth Development Cabinet Poster (Ali Alatas).jpg | image_size = | caption = Official portrait, 1993 | order = 1st | office = Chairperson of the Presidential Advisory Council | term_start = 10 April 2007 | term_end = 11 December 2008 | president = Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono | predecessor = Office established | successor = T. B. Silalahi | order1 = 13th | office1 = Minister of Foreign Affairs (Indonesia)Minister of Foreign Affairs | term_start1 = 21 March 1988 | term_end1 = 20 October 1999 | predecessor1 = Mochtar Kusumaatmadja | president1 = Suharto B. J. Habibie | successor1 = Alwi Shihab | birth_date = | birth_place = Batavia, Dutch East Indies | death_date = | death_place = Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Singapore | restingplace = Kalibata Heroes' Cemetery | occupation = Diplomat | spouse = Junisa Wolff Alatas | children = Soraya Alatas Soegarda, Nadira Alatas Sriwijanarko Fawzia Alatas-Patompo | native_name = علي العطاس | native_name_lang = ar | relations = Witjaksana Soegarda (son-in-law)

Ali Alatas ( ar; 4 November 193211 December 2008) was an Indonesian diplomat of Ba 'Alawi sada descent, who served as the country's foreign minister from 1988 to 1999. He was Indonesia's longest serving foreign minister.

Education and early career

Alatas graduated from the Indonesian Foreign Service Academy in 1954 and earned a law degree from the University of Indonesia in 1956. Alatas joined the Indonesian foreign service in 1954 as a 22-year-old. His early career included stints in the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand and Embassy in Washington, DC. He was named Indonesia's ambassador to the UN, in Geneva from 1975 to 1978 and was also ambassador to the UN in New York from 1982 to 1988. In 1979, he was a strong contender for the powerful position of the director general for political affairs within the foreign ministry, which was regarded as the de facto deputy to the foreign minister in political affairs. Despite his feasibility for the position due to his age, Alatas was instead appointed as secretary to vice president Adam Malik.

As foreign minister and after

He was Indonesia's Minister for Foreign Affairs from March 1988, serving three terms under the former Suharto administration and once under the Habibie administration in May 1998. He advocated regional cooperation and played a crucial role in drafting the ASEAN Charter and the Constitution of the 10-member grouping the Eminent Persons Group. He also brokered peace negotiations in several hot spots in Southeast Asia.

His most famous success was his role in helping to broker peace in Cambodia, in 1991, which ended the war with the Khmer Rouge. "Alatas brokered the historic 1991 peace settlement at the Paris International Conference to end the war with the Khmer Rouge, though he had to share some of the glory with France," The Guardian wrote, calling the settlement his "greatest triumph."

His obituary by Reuters said Alatas "was a widely respected figure in the region tipped at one stage to be a possible United Nations secretary-general" but that his later career was "haunted by the Suharto era and the turmoil in East Timor," the former Portuguese colony that voted for independence from Indonesia in 1999. Alatas recounted his role in the diplomatic controversy over Indonesia's annexation of East Timor in 1975 and the events leading to independence in The pebble in the shoe: The diplomatic struggle for East Timor. His obituary in The Guardian argued that a 1991 massacre of anti-Indonesian demonstrators at Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili, East Timor's capital, probably prevented Alatas from taking charge of the UN. "International outrage over the deaths may have cost Alatas the top UN job, for which he was in the running in the late 1990s," The Guardian wrote. "Suharto reportedly vetoed his candidacy as he believed the role would have highlighted such abuses." Alatas later termed the Santa Cruz massacre a "turning point" for Indonesia in East Timor.

On 30 March 1995 he was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia, for service to Australian-Indonesian relations.

In 2003, Alatas was appointed as the United Nations special envoy to Burma. He arrived in Burma on 18 August 2005 for a three-day visit and sought the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Alatas served as chairman of the Presidential Advisory Council (Dewan Pertimbangan Presiden) in the Yudhoyono Administration.

Death

On 11 December 2008, Alatas died at 7.30am, at the age of 76 of a heart attack at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore, with his wife and his three daughters at his bedside. At the Indonesian Embassy in Sungai Hanching on 13 December, Lim Jock Seng, Brunei Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade II, signed a condolence book on behalf of the Bruneian government.

Honours

National

Foreign honours

References

References

  1. [http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/world/14038-veteran-indonesian-diplomat-ali-alatas-dies-at-76 Veteran Indonesian diplomat Ali Alatas dies at 76] {{webarchive. link. (2008-12-12)
  2. [http://www.hamline.edu/apakabar/basisdata/1998/03/18/0006.html [INDONESIA-L] GJA - Alatas, Sudwika] {{webarchive. link. (2008-12-14)
  3. [http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/12/11/former-foreign-minister-ali-alatas-dies-76.html Former foreign minister Ali Alatas died at 76] {{webarchive. link. (2008-12-15 ; ''[[The Jakarta Post]]'', 11 December 2008)
  4. [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7776786.stm Former Indonesian minister dies]; ''[[BBC]]'', 11 December 2008
  5. [http://www.aiys.org/webdate/gadr.html INTERVIEW: HAMID AL-GADRI] {{webarchive. link. (2008-06-18)
  6. [https://archive.today/20121209005342/http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A30378-2003Jan8?language=printer Indonesia's Radical Arabs Raise Suspicions of Moderate Countrymen]
  7. (2008-12-11). "Indonesia's Ali Alatas tarnished by East Timor". Reuters.
  8. MacKinnon, Ian. (2008-12-17). "Ali Alatas: Indonesian diplomat who helped broker peace in Cambodia". The Guardian.
  9. (12 May 1979). "Serah terima jabatan Dirjen Politik Deplu dari Suryono". Tempo.
  10. Yemen Times, Staff. (2008-12-11). "We need to know about each other's potentials and make use". Yemen Times.
  11. (2008-12-12). "Alatas, strong advocate of Asean, dies". Straits Times.
  12. (2008-12-12). "A good friend of Singapore". Today.
  13. "It's an Honour".
  14. MacKinnon, Ian. (2008-12-17). "Ali Alatas". The Guardian.
  15. (2007-04-11). "President Yudhoyono to Install Wantimpres Members". Antara News.
  16. Deutsche Presse Agentur. (2008-12-11). "Former Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas dead at 76". The Nation.
  17. Niniek Karmini. (December 11, 2008). "Former Indonesian diplomat Ali Alatas dies". Associated Press.
  18. "Negara Brunei Darussalam: obituary 2008".
  19. (7 January 2020). "Daftar WNI yang Menerima Tanda Kehormatan Republik Indonesia Tahun 1959–sekarang". Kementerian Sekretariat Negara Republik Indonesia.
  20. "Daftar WNI yang Mendapat Tanda Kehormatan Bintang Mahaputera tahun 1959 s.d. 2003".

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1932-births2008-deathssundanese-peopleindonesian-muslimsindonesian-people-of-arab-descentindonesian-people-of-yemeni-descentpeople-from-jakartapermanent-representatives-of-indonesia-to-the-united-nations-in-genevaforeign-ministers-of-indonesiahadhrami-peoplehonorary-officers-of-the-order-of-australiaba'-alawi-tribe