Salsabilla Azzahra Octavia, Jakarta – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto recalls his father, Sumitro Djojohadikoesoemo, when hearing the acronym PSI.
"I feel a bit emotional when I hear the words PSI," said Prabowo when attending the closing of the Solidarity Indonesia Party Congress, which is also abbreviated as PSI, at the Auditorium K.H. Ahmad Dahlan, Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta (UMS), Solo, Central Java, on Sunday night, July 20, 2025.
Prabowo mentioned that his father, Sumitro Djojohadikusumo, had once been the Chairman of the Socialist Party of Indonesia, abbreviated as PSI at that time. Prabowo explained that now the old PSI has a successor, the Solidarity Indonesia Party, which is led [text missing].
"Thank you for choosing the name PSI, the letters were chosen, but yes, social solidarity, Pancasila and social," he said.
Profile of Sumitro Djojohadikoesoemo
Reported by LPEM FEB UI, Prof Dr Sumitro Djojohadikusumo is referred to as the "Great Economic Guru" in the history of the Republic of Indonesia. Soemitro is the father of President Prabowo Subianto, the father-in-law of former Governor of Bank Indonesia Soedrajad Djiwandono, and a relative of former Indonesian President Soeharto. Sumitro is the son of the founder of Bank Negara Indonesia, Raden Mas Margono Djojohadikusomo, who was the first chairman of DPAS and a member of BPUPKI.
Sumitro began his career as an Assistant Staff to the Prime Minister of Indonesia, Sutan Syahrir, in 1946. Subsequently, Sumitro served as the President Director of the Indonesian Banking Corporation in 1947 and Charge d'Affaires at the Indonesian Embassy in Washington, DC in 1950.
Sumitro is known to have served as Minister of Trade and Industry in the Natsir Cabinet (1950-1951), Minister of Finance in the Wilopo Cabinet (1952-1953), Minister of Finance in the Burhanuddin Harahap Cabinet (1955-1956), Minister of Trade in the Development Cabinet I (1968-1973), and Minister of Research and Development in the Development Cabinet II (1973-1978).
Sumitro became the Minister of Trade and Industry as well as the Minister of Finance in the Old Order era. Sumitro was involved in the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia (PRRI) in Sumatra and faced charges of corruption by President Sukarno. After the dissolution of the Socialist Party in 1960, Sumitro had to live in perennial exile with his family until the New Order era.
During the period from 1942 to 1994, Sumitro was active in writing about economic issues. As the founder of the Faculty of Economics at the University of Indonesia, Sumitro produced around 130 books and papers in English. His last book titled The Trace of the Warrior's Resistance was published by Pustaka Sinar Harapan in April 2000.
Awards received by Sumitro, among others, include the Bintang Mahaputra Adiprana II from domestic sources and awards from abroad, such as Panglima Mangku Negara from the Kingdom of Malaysia, Grand Cross of Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant, First Class from the Kingdom of Thailand, Grand Cross of the Crown from the Kingdom of Belgium, and other awards from the Republic of Tunisia and France.
Sumitro passed away at the age of 84 at Dharma Nugraha Hospital, Rawamangun, East Jakarta on March 9, 2001. Sumitro was laid to rest simply at his residence at Jalan Metro Kencana IV/22, Pondok Indah, South Jakarta, and buried at the Karet Bivak Public Cemetery Block A III.
– Eka Yudha Saputra and Ananda Bintang Purwaramdhona contributed to the writing of this article.