Hartini

Early life

Hartini was born Siti Suhartini in Ponorogo, East Java, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), on 20 September 1924. The second of five children born to a forestry worker named Murawi and his wife Mairah, her family frequently moved during her childhood. She began her primary studies at a Dutch-run school for indigenous children in Ponorogo, then continued in Malang after her family moved there in the early 1930s. To allow Hartini better access to education, she was adopted by a family friend named Oesman, who took her to Bandung, West Java, where she completed her elementary studies in 1938. This was followed by three years at a junior secondary school. At home, Hartini learned the traditional role of women in Javanese culture, which she sought to embody in her marriages: "a wife should be a mother, friend, and lover to her husband". Her adoptive parents also enrolled her at the Njiverheidschool—a school for teaching domestic skills.

On 20 December 1942, Hartini entered an arranged marriage with an oil company worker named Suwondo. The couple moved to Salatiga, Central Java, where their union produced five children: Herwindo, Tri Herwanto, Sri Wulandari, Riswulan, and Sri Hariswati. Hartini and Suwondo divorced in the early 1950s, citing irreconcilable differences and frequent fights. The timeline of Hartini's divorce is disputed. Some writers, such as the journalist Rosihan Anwar, described them as having separated by the time Hartini met President Sukarno. Others, including the biographer Peter Kasenda, the Australian historian John Legge, and the American historian Theodore Friend, wrote that Hartini and Suwondo were still married when she was romanced by Sukarno. Hartini denied the latter claim, writing in 1970 that she was already divorced. Suwondo testified in court in 1954 that the couple had registered their divorce on 12 April 1954 but agreed to backdate it to 12 April 1952, with a verbal agreement taking place in January 1952.

Meeting Sukarno

In September 1952, Hartini met Sukarno as she was helping cater a dinner between the president and the mayor of Salatiga. On his way to Yogyakarta to inaugurate the Syuhada Mosque, Sukarno enjoyed the meal and asked who had cooked the sayur lodeh. The other women pushed Hartini forward, and she spoke briefly with Sukarno and shook his hand. Hartini and Sukarno felt a mutual attraction, despite the 23-year age difference. Hartini reportedly felt "smitten" by him from their first meeting, a feeling that deepened as she got to know the president better. Meanwhile, in his first letter, Sukarno wrote that he "was much moved" when he first saw Hartini; according to Friend, he was stimulated by Hartini's intelligence and sophistication.

Sukarno began sending Hartini love letters, over a hundred in total, through an intermediary identified by Anwar as General Gatot Soebroto and by Legge as Major General Soehardjo Hardjowardojo. Sukarno signed these letters with a pseudonym, Srihana, and referred to Hartini as Srihani; he later explained to Hartini that he had derived these names from a Javanese legend of inseparable lovers. During their affair, Hartini would regularly travel overland from Salatiga to Semarang, from which she would fly to Jakarta before heading to the Presidential Palace in Cipanas. The couple also met at Prambanan in 1953 when Sukarno inaugurated the Ramayana Ballet. Prime Minister Ali Sastroamidjojo urged Sukarno to maintain stability and avoid scandal by keeping his affair quiet. Sukarno countered that he loved Hartini deeply, and it would thus be immoral to keep her as a mere mistress.

On 15 January 1953, Sukarno asked his wife Fatmawati, who had given birth to their youngest son Guruh two days previously, permission to take Hartini as a second wife. She reluctantly agreed, despite being against the union, and Sukarno proposed. Hartini initially refused, for fear that she would be seen as stealing another woman's husband. However, Sukarno continued to propose, and Hartini agreed after Sukarno stated that he could not live without her and promised that she would be his "queen without a crown". Sukarno and Hartini were married on 7 July 1954 in a small ceremony at Cipanas. It was Sukarno's fourth marriage, as well as his first polygamous marriage.

Marriage

Sukarno concealed his relationship with Hartini from the public until it was reported by the newspaper Indonesia Raya in September 1954. It faced outrage both due to its timing and the ongoing effort to pass a new monogamous marriage law. Women's organizations then campaigning against polygamy in Indonesia, including the Indonesian Women's Congress, decried the union and deemed it degrading to women. Delegates from organizations in Jakarta met separately with Sukarno and Fatmawati to protest the marriage, while members of the Indonesian Women's Movement (Gerwani) were reported to have thrown objects at Hartini's home in Salatiga. In October 1955, eleven women's organizations collectively issued a statement that recognized Hartini as Sukarno's wife but rejected her as First Lady of Indonesia and urged the government to avoid using public funds for her. Several religious groups marched on the palace and conducted protests, which Sukarno recalled to have distressed him.

Newspapers such as Indonesia Raya and Pedoman carried editorials against the marriage. Some called for Sukarno's resignation or challenged the legitimacy of the marriage, though others such as Suluh Indonesia and Berita Minggu considered the controversy an attempt to undermine Sukarno. Coverage of the marriage and ensuing controversy extended internationally, with editorials condemning the marriage published in British Malaya and the Philippines. The Indonesian government established a council to protect Sukarno's good name in 1954, though it only succeeded after the military implemented a policy prohibiting provocative media coverage in September 1956.

According to Friend and Legge, Hartini's relationship with Sukarno increased his political determination and improved his confidence. She, however, was ostracized from Jakarta's high society through the 1950s; Vice-President Mohammad Hatta, for example, would leave a room if Hartini entered. In 1954, Sukarno promised that Hartini would not be introduced to the Indonesian public, and after a controversial attempt in 1955 she was no longer brought on official business. She was consciously excluded from major political events, including Mothers' Day celebrations as well as the 1955 Bandung Conference. Her involvement in official functions was generally limited to small and intimate ones. Officially, Fatmawati remained first lady, though she had moved out of the palace and unsuccessfully sought a divorce. Writing in 1970, Hartini recalled, "In some ways, it was harder to be the second wife of the President than his mistress."

Dominance in Bogor

By the late 1950s, Hartini had developed increased political acumen, despite her status as a second wife creating protocol problems at state functions. She met with numerous heads of state, including Akihito of Japan, Ho Chi Minh of Vietnam, Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia, and Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia. She also represented Indonesia abroad on several occasions, including Yugoslavia in 1960 and China and Poland in 1962, and reaffirmed alliances with the Eastern Bloc. In Indonesia, Hartini delivered speeches and attended official functions, at times accompanying Sukarno. Although during this period she took more of the roles expected of the first lady, while Fatmawati distanced herself from the role, Hartini never officially held the title; when a 1963 women's congress considered such a proposal, Sukarno interrupted his presidential duties to attend the congress, remove Hartini, and order her return to Bogor.

While still forbidden from attending the palace in Jakarta, where Sukarno lived with four of his children by Fatmawati, Hartini established what Legge describes as "a court of her own" in Bogor. Access to Hartini meant easier access to the president. Government officials—including Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) leaders such as DN Aidit and Njoto—attempted to curry her favour, while the wives of General Ahmad Yani and Minister of Foreign Affairs Subandrio were rumoured to maintain good relations with her for the sake of their husbands. This influence was also recognized by international dignitaries; when Cindy Adams was preparing her biography of the president, United States ambassador Howard P. Jones urged her to interview Hartini. Adams later described Hartini as "Sukarno's number two-wife, but ... number one in power and prestige."

Although Hartini exerted significant influence through and on Sukarno, she did not have a monopoly on her husband, who developed a reputation as a womanizer. He refused to divorce Fatmawati, stating that he still loved her. Likewise, although Sukarno promised Hartini that she would be his last wife, he later married Ratna Sari Dewi in 1961, Haryati in 1963, and Yurike Sanger in 1964. He spent his weekends with Hartini and weekdays with his other wives, but attempted to conceal these other marriages from Hartini. He also conducted numerous affairs, which Hartini stopped inquiring about under threat of abandonment. In a 1999 interview, Hartini recalled, "He truly loved beauty, and the beauty found in women's graces." She explained that it had taken her three years to learn to accept Sukarno as he was, though even then it remained a burden.

Fall from power

In September 1965, a coup was undertaken by a group identifying itself as the 30 September Movement (Gerakan 30 September, or G30S). The coup was blamed on the PKI. Subsequently, student demonstrations called for the dissolution of the party, as well as reduced inflation and the end of Sukarno's rule. Protests erupted in front of several presidential palaces. Among protestors' complaints were Sukarno's numerous wives. At Hartini's domicile in Bogor, students vandalized the walls with phrases such as "sarang sipilis" (lit. 'syphilis nest') and "lonte agung istana" ('grand palace whore'). This vandalism reportedly infuriated Sukarno, who called ten student representatives to his office and yelled at them.

Ultimately, Sukarno entrusted Suharto with ensuring security in Indonesia through the Order of Eleven March, which was signed in front of Hartini at the Bogor Palace in 1966. Suharto consolidated power and installed his allies in the government, undermining Sukarno's authority. When Hartini asked Sukarno if he remained president, he did not answer, stating only that he felt Suharto had manipulated the powers granted to him to take control of the government. On 12 March 1967 Sukarno was formally removed from the presidency by the People's Consultative Assembly, which cited his failure to fulfil his constitutionally mandated duties. Suharto was installed as his replacement, initially in an acting capacity.

During the transitionary period, Hartini faced accusations that she was aligned with leftist organizations, such as the now-banned Gerwani, and that she had channeled funds to the Communist Party. Based on such reports, she was interrogated by the new regime. In October 1968, the Associated Press reported that Hartini had been arrested and charged with supporting Sukarno's continued political activity; the report was refuted by Sutikno Lukitodisastro, the presidential secretary for Suharto. United Press International reported that several of Sukarno's wives blamed Hartini and her leftist politics for his downfall.

Removed from power, Sukarno divided his time between Hartini in Bogor and his other wives in Jakarta. Over time, these wives left him, with Hartini the only one to remain with the former president. Initially, she remained at the palace in Bogor, sometimes receiving visits from Sukarno's children, under the supervision of the state apparatus. On 1 July 1968, Hartini was removed from the palace and relocated to nearby Batu Tulis. As Sukarno's health failed, Hartini petitioned for the government to provide him with healthcare. Later, when Sukarno began house arrest at Wisma Yaso in Jakarta, Hartini was often denied access to him.

Widowhood and death

Following Sukarno's death, Hartini had no income; only in 1983, after a lengthy period of de-Sukarnoization, did she begin to receive a portion of the pension allocated to Sukarno's wives. To support Taufan and Bayu, she operated a series of small businesses. These were generally unsuccessful, and thus Hartini sold many of the gifts she had received from Sukarno. These included a house in Bogor as well as paintings by Indonesian artists such as Affandi, S. Sudjojono, and Lee Man Fong. Hartini dedicated her spare time to charity, attended functions related to Sukarno's family, and represented Sukarno at state functions, including when he was declared a "Proclamator Hero" in 1986. She generally avoided politics.

By 1999, Hartini was living in Central Jakarta, filling her days with social activities and housework. In her old age, Hartini developed a heart condition, for which she received regular medical care and was hospitalized several times. In March 2002, she was admitted to the Metropolitan Medical Centre Hospital in Jakarta. She died on 11 March after three days in a coma. Hartini was buried at Karet Bivak Cemetery in a military funeral after a wake led by her stepdaughter, President Megawati Sukarnoputri. Attendees included her surviving children and step-children, Vice-President Hamzah Haz, former vice-president Try Sutrisno, and former governor Ali Sadikin.