Sam Ratulangi

Dr. Gerungan Saul Samuel Yacob Ratulangi or Ratu Langie (November 5, 1890 - June 30, 1949), usually known as Sam Ratulangi, was a Minahasa politician from North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

The son of Jozias Ratulangi and Augustina Gerungan, both from wealthy, well-respected Minahasa families, Sam Ratulangi was born in Tondano, North Sulawesi, at the time a part of the Dutch East Indies. He was a gifted student, who after completing his studies in Tondano and Jakarta followed in his father's footsteps and went to Amsterdam in the Netherlands for further studies. He graduated from a teacher's college as a science teacher in 1915, studied for two more years at the University of Amsterdam, and in 1919 earned his Ph.D. at the University of Zurich, Switzerland.

On his return to Indonesia, he moved to Yogyakarta to teach science at a high school, and then moved on to Bandung to found the insurance company "Assurantie Maatschappij Indonesia" — the first known instance of the word "Indonesia" being used in an official document. He had already led some Indonesian students' associations in Europe, and in 1924 was appointed as secretary of the Council of Minahasan Students. He used this position to lobby for more rights and is widely credited with getting the Dutch to abolish forced labor ("Herendiensten") in Minahasa.

Appointed to the Volksraad (the Dutch East Indies' parliament) in 1927, he continued to agitate for equal rights and was one of the founding members of the United Scholars of Indonesia ("Vereniging van Indonesische Academici") in 1932. He continued to serve in the Volksraad until 1937, when he was arrested and jailed for several months due to his increasing political involvement. He then became the editor of "Nationale Commentaren", a Dutch-language news and issues magazine.

In early August 1945, he was appointed as one of the members of the Preparatory Committee on Indonesian Independence, and after Sukarno's unilateral declaration of independence on August 16th, he was thereafter appointed as the governor of Celebes (Sulawesi) in August 22nd. Arrested by the Dutch on April 5th, 1946, he was exiled for three years to Serui on Yapen Island, Western New Guinea. Freed briefly in March 23, 1948 and brought to Yogyakarta, he was captured again on December 25, 1948 when the Dutch occupied Yogyakarta. Due to his failing health, he was released again in Jakarta in February 1949, where he died on June 30.

In August 1961, Ratulangi was posthumously awarded the title of "Pahlawan Kemerdekaan Nasional" (National Independence Hero) by Sukarno. Manado's Sam Ratulangi Airport, the main thoroughfare "Jalan Sam Ratulangi" and the Sam Ratulangi University are all named after him.