Johannes Latuharhary

Johannes Latuharhary (6 July 1900 – 8 November 1959) was an Indonesian politician and nationalist of Moluccan descent, who served as the first Indonesian governor of Maluku from 1945 until 1955, though he did not assume office in Maluku until 1950. A Protestant Christian, Latuharhary was an early proponent of Moluccan inclusion in the Indonesian state and he was an active participant in the struggle for Indonesia's independence.

Born in Ullath, Saparua, Latuharhary moved to Batavia to pursue higher education, before receiving a scholarship to study at Leiden University. Upon his return to the East Indies, he worked as a judge in East Java and began participating in the Indonesian nationalist movement through the Ambonese diaspora association Sarekat Ambon. He later resigned from his position as judge and became an advocate and politician, merging the Sarekat with the mainstream movement of Indonesian nationalism after initial rifts caused by the issue of religion in politics. He moved to Jakarta and worked under the Department of Home Affairs during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies to manage Moluccans in Java, being arrested three times for different reasons. By 1945, had become a member of the BPUPK and PPKI organizations.

Through his membership in the BPUPK and PPKI, Latuharhary took part in the initial drafting of the Constitution of Indonesia. He unsuccessfully championed federalism and opposed the inclusion of religion in government through the Jakarta Charter and later opposing the formation of the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Following the proclamation of independence, he was appointed Governor of Maluku, but could not take power and instead organized Moluccans in Java to join the revolutionary cause. He was for some time part of the Central Indonesian National Committee leadership and he participated in the Indonesian delegations of the Renville and the Roem–Van Roijen Agreements. He eventually took office in 1950, where he attempted to establish the government and rebuild the ruined city of Ambon, before he was removed from his post. He died on 8 November 1959.