Setiadi Reksoprodjo

Setiadi Reksoprodjo (18 September 1921 — 28 July 2010) was an Indonesian politician who served as Minister of Information in First Amir Sjarifuddin Cabinet, Junior Minister of Information in Second Amir Sjarifuddin Cabinet, member of the People's Consultative Assembly and the Constitutional Assembly, and as the Minister of Electricity and Energy in Dwikora Cabinet (Dwikora I) and Revised Dwikora Cabinet (Dwikora II).

Setiadi was 25 years and 7 months old when he was appointed as Minister of Information, making him the youngest minister in Indonesia up to this day.

Setiadi was born on 18 September 1921, and died on 28 July 2010.

Setiadi Reksoprodjo was born on 18 September 1921 in Kutoarjo, a town in the Purworejo Regency of Central Java.

He was the oldest son of Javanese aristocrat Soekirdjo Reksoprodjo and Koespirah Soemodidjojo.

Setiadi enrolled at the Semarang Hogere Burgerschool (Higher Civic School) in 1933.

Setiadi graduated from the school in 1938 with a score of 8,37 at the final exam, the highest score in the exam.

In 1938, Setiadi entered the Technical High School of Bandung (Technische Hoogeschool te Bandoeng, now Bandung Institute of Technology).

He graduated from the university in 1941, and obtained engineer's degree (Ir.) in 1942.

After his graduation, he was employed by the Japanese government during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies to work at the West Java Transportation and Irrigation Bureau in Cirebon.

After the independence of Indonesia, Setiadi Reksoprodjo still maintained his job at the West Java Transportation and Irrigation Bureau.

He was also involved in politics, and joined the Indonesian Socialist Party.

In 1945, he became the chairman of the Socialist Youth of Indonesia — the party's youth wing — in Cirebon.

He was also appointed as the Chairman of the Indonesian National Committee of Cirebon and as the Chairman of the Cirebon Defence Council.

Setiadi was credited for the development of radio broadcasting in Cirebon.

He established the Information Radio of Cirebon, Cirebon's first radio station, which was later merged to Radio Republik Indonesia.

Setiadi supported the restoration of the 1945 State Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia and the dissolution of the Constitutional Assembly.

Setiadi moved to Yogyakarta — the capital of Indonesia at that time — in January 1947 along with his appointment as the Head of the Public Relations Bureau of the Department of Public Works, a new office.

In accordance with his new position, he was appointed as a member of the central executive council of the Socialist Youth of Indonesia.

On 3 July 1947, Amir Sjarifuddin, the new prime minister of Indonesia, announced his first cabinet.

Setiadi, who was 25 years and 9 months old at that time, was appointed as the Minister of Information, making him the youngest minister in the cabinet and in the history of Indonesia.

His junior minister in the cabinet, Sjahbuddin Latief, was almost twice as old as him (48 years).

Five months later, on 11 November 1947, Amir announced a reshuffle on his cabinet.

In Amir's new cabinet, Setiadi and Sjahbuddin exchanged their posts.

Sjahbuddin was appointed as the Minister of Information, while Setiadi became the junior minister.

After the cabinet was dissolved on 29 January 1948, Setiadi became an entrepreneur.

On the same year, Setiadi's party, the Socialist Party, was split into the Sutan Sjahrir-led Socialist Party of Indonesia and the Amir Sjarifuddin-led People's Democratic Front.

Setiadi joined neither.

His father, Soekirdjo Reksoprodjo, held office as the Regent of Kudus from 1952 until 1954.

In 1954, Setiadi ran in the Indonesian Constitutional Assembly election, even though he was not a member of the Communist Party of Indonesia he was nominated as candidate number 22 by the party, representing West Java.

Setiadi won a seat and was sworn in on 9 November 1956.

Setiadi, along with several other independent candidates on the Constitutional Assembly including Prof. Ir.

Saluku Poerbodiningrat, A. Astrawinata S.H, Affandi and Ismail Kartasasmita formed their own fraction named the Proclamation Republic fraction.

The Constitutional Assembly was dissolved by the president's decree three years later on 5 July 1959.

Several months later, Setiadi was appointed by President Sukarno as Jakarta's Regional Delegate to the People's Consultative Assembly.

Setiadi was inaugurated on 15 September 1960 and held the office until his appointment as minister.

Setiadi was also involved in the World Peace Council.

Setiadi was involved in the establishment of the Indonesian Peace Committee, the council's branch in Indonesia, and became the chairman of the committee.

He then left the position after he became a World Peace Council executive committee member and was replaced by Mrs. Ratu Amina Hidajat.

He was buried in Kalibata Heroes Cemetery on 29 July 2010.