Anak Agung Bagus Suteja

Who is Anak Agung Bagus Suteja?

Anak Agung Bagus Suteja was the first governor of Bali, appointed by President Sukarno in 1958, when Bali became a province. He was the son of the last Raja of Jembrana, Anak Agung Bagus Negara.

Anak Agung Bagus Suteja was influenced by nationalist ideas from his school years. After August 1945 he was actively involved with the Republicans in the Indonesian Revolution that strove to expel the Dutch. The Dutch colonial authorities imprisoned him in 1948-49. After Indonesian independence he was appointed regional head of Bali by President Sukarno. As an administrator he was known as an incorruptible leftist idealist. His status was changed to that of governor when the Sunda Kecil province was changed, and Bali became a province of its own. After the coup events in Jakarta in 1965, Suteja was summoned to Jakarta for consultations, and replaced as governor in December that year. He later disappeared during the bloody purges accompanying the rise of Suharto's 'New Order'.