Wage Rudolf Supratman

Great Indonesia Songwriter

Wage Rudolf Supratman created the highly valuable masterpiece which represents the spirit of struggle of a national movement. The music represents the spirit of nationality, the will and desire to have independence. In his soul he poured his love for his country into his composition, Great Indonesia. Later this song become the national anthem of Indonesia.

He was born on the 9th of March in 1903. He died on the 17th of August 1938, before hearing his song echoed at independence day of the country he loved.

Supratman was born in Jatinegara, Jakarta, went to elementary school in Jakarta, later; then continued to Normaal School Ujungpandang. Having completed education, he still lived in the Ujungpandang and had time to work as teacher Elementary School. From Ujungpandang, he moved to Bandung to begin his profession as a journalist. He finally went upstream to his birth town, Jakarta.

His feelings about Dutch colonization he poured into a book called "Countryside Maiden." The book was filled with national values and touched on the crisis in the country due to the Dutch governance and colonism. Finally the Dutch colonial government confiscated the book and prohibited him from circulating it to the public.

Givinig birth to the Great Indonesia song

This great composer created the Indonesian national anthem when he felt his nationality was challenged. When Young fellow Congress, namely congress bearing Young fellow Oath passed off in Jakarta in October 1928, Supratman created this song on the night of the closing event on the 28th of October 1928. From the first moment people heard the song it echoed publicly and inspired patriotism in the circle of national movement. So that since then ---if a political party performs in the congress, The Great Indonesia song, become a kind of materialization of the feeling and the association and will and desire to have independence.

And when Indonesia obtained independence, all the independence fighters made the Great Indonesia song as their national anthem. Wage Rudolf Supratman died and was buried in Surabaya on the 17th of August 1938. He will be remembered as a National Warrior for all his services to his beloved country, Indonesia.