Tanja Dezentjé

Tanja Dezentjé was born in the Netherlands (The Hague) into a family with roots in Indonesia. After independence was declared, she sided with the Republic of Indonesia and took Indonesian citizenship in 1946.

In the earliest days of the revolution, she worked at Radio Yogyakarta. Later, in the service of the Republic, she travelled to various countries to argue the case for Indonesian independence. Her passionate pleas for a free Indonesia were heard from Bangkok to New Delhi and from Singapore to Cairo.

In 1947, Dezentjé was painted by the Indonesian painter Sudarso. She is depicted wearing military uniform, like many of the men in the republican government and military circles in which she moved. Dezentjé embodied the image of a progressive and emancipated country that Indonesia was keen to promote.

She travelled to India in 1947 as a member of the Indonesian trade mission. There she was present at the signing of the new republic’s first trade agreement: Indonesia was to supply India with rice in exchange for cotton.

At every opportunity, Dezentjé reminded her listeners of the importance of equal representation of women in the new state. Women sat in the provisional parliament, held ministerial posts and formed part of the diplomatic corps.