Karel Sadsuitubun | |
Birth Date: | 14 October 1928 |
Birth Place: | Tual, Southeast Maluku, Dutch East Indies |
Birth Name: | Karel Sadsuitubun |
Death Place: | Jakarta, Indonesia |
Death Cause: | Shooting |
Spouse: | Margaretha Waginah |
Children: | 3 |
Serviceyears: | 1945–1965 |
Rank: | Police Second Sub-inspector (posthumously) |
Allegiance: | Indonesia |
Karel Sadsuitubun (also mistakenly written as Karel Satsuit Tubun;[1] 14 October 1928 – 1 October 1965) was an Indonesian police officer and national hero. Serving as a bodyguard for deputy prime minister Johannes Leimena, he was fatally wounded in the line of duty in a scuffle by communists during the 1965 coup d'état.[2]
Karel Satsuit Tubun was born on 14 October 1928 in Tual, Southeast Maluku. He pursued a career as a police officer, participating in Operation Trikora, and after the transfer of West Irian, he became a bodyguard for Deputy Prime Minister Johannes Leimena. As a bodyguard, he was promoted to the rank of Police Brigadier. On 30 September 1965, communist rebels attempted a coup d'etat, aiming to kidnap and kill high-ranking military personnel, including Major General Abdul Haris Nasution, who was in the house adjacent to Leimena's. During the chaos, Tubun woke up and attempted to shoot the rebels but was fatally shot.
The coup d'état ultimately failed, and in the aftermath, Tubun was declared a national hero. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of Police Second Sub-inspector. A number of things are named in his honor, including an Indonesian frigate known as the KRI Karel Satsuitubun (356) and an airport.