born Aug. 12, 1902, Bukittinggi, Dutch East Indies
died March 14, 1980, Jakarta, Indon.
Indonesian independence leader and prime minister (1948–50).
While at school in The Netherlands (1922–32), he became president of a group of Indonesian nationalist students studying overseas. He was imprisoned in a concentration camp in West New Guinea for his activities and then exiled to the island of Bandanaira. He collaborated with the Japanese during World War II. He became prime minister in 1948 and gained support from Western countries that year by suppressing a communist revolt. Hatta helped guide Indonesia to complete independence in 1949. He became vice president under Sukarno in 1950, but resigned in 1956. After Sukarno's downfall, he served as an adviser to Suharto .