Adam Malik

                                                              Adam Malik
                                                      3rd Vice President of Indonesia
                                               In office 23 March 1978 – 12 March 1983

President Suharto
Preceded by Hamengkubuwana IX
Succeeded by Umar Wirahadikusumah


Personal Details
Full name            Adam Malik Batubara 
Birth date            22 July 1917
Birth place          Pematangsiantar, Indonesia
Died                   5 September 1984 (aged 67) Bandung, Indonesia
Political party      Golongan Karya
Profession           Politician
Religion               Islam

Biography
Adam Malik was Indonesia's third vice president, a senior diplomat, and one of the pioneers of Indonesian journalism. Malik was born in Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra, Indonesia to Abdul Malik Batubara and Salamah Lubis. He is from a Batak Muslim family of Batubara clan.  After completing Junior High School, he received his first job as a shopkeeper, filling in time by reading books and increasing his knowledge  Malik quickly developed an interest in politics and aged just 17, became the Chairman of the Pematang Siantar branch of Partindo (Indonesia Party). In this position, Malik campaigned for the Dutch Colonial Government to grant independence to Indonesia. As a result of this, Malik was put in prison for disobeying the Colonial Government's ban on political assemblies. Once he was freed, Malik left Pematang Siantar for Jakarta.


Career 
After leaving hometown, Malik pursued a job as a journalist. He wrote for Partindo's Party Magazine and Pelita Andalas Newspaper. In 1937, along with like-minded colleagues, Malik formed ANTARA.
ANTARA would develop to become Indonesia's national news agency. Malik played an important role in the events leading up to Indonesia's Declaration of Independence. On the 16 August 1945 Malik and other pro-Independence youths kidnapped Nationalist movement leaders Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta.

In 1971, Malik was chosen as President of the United Nations General Assembly. Malik was briefly involved in the crisis that would lead to the invasion of East Timor. Malik had assured an East Timorese delegation led by José Ramos-Horta that Indonesia would not be involved in the crisis in East Timor. Suharto at first supported this stance towards East Timor but in 1975, was convinced by his Generals to intervene and invade. In 1977, Malik was replaced as Foreign Minister as he took on the Chairmanship of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Vice Presidency Malik's stint as MPR Chairman would not last long however. In March 1978, Suharto had been elected President for a 3rd term and had expected Hamengkubuwono IX to continue as Vice President. As it turned out, Hamengkubuwono refused to be nominated. After considering some alternative candidates, Suharto chose Malik to be his Vice President. In his position as Vice President, Malik was not afraid to criticize the Government. In 1979, he admitted that the current regime had violated the spirit of the 1945 constitution.  He also criticized the increasing feudalism in the regime. A reference to Suharto, who acted in the manner of a feudal Javanese King. In 1981, Malik commented on the corruption in the regime, referring it as an "epidemic".  In 1983, Malik's term as Vice President came to an end.

Awards and commendations
In 1982, Malik received the Dag Hammarskjöld Award from the United Nations. He has also been recognized as a National Hero of Indonesia.  (Source Wikipedia)