Syarief Thayeb

Syarief Thayeb trained as a doctor during the Japanese occupation and graduated in Jakarta in 1945. He joined the military during the independence struggle, then pursued pediatric studies at Harvard and Temple in the 1950s. By 1961 he was directing Jakarta's central general hospital and teaching medicine; the following year he became the University of Indonesia's first rector with a military background. ^{1, 3}

As rector he helped establish the university's engineering faculty. His decree of 17 July 1964 created its initial civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering departments. He subsequently became minister of higher education and science. During the struggle over Sukarno's government, he supported the student organization KAMI, whose formation followed a meeting of student leaders at his home. He then served as a deputy speaker of the legislature before his Washington appointment. ^{2, 1}

Thayeb's American ambassadorship began in 1971. A State Department assessment described him as a figure connecting the armed forces and the intellectual community. During his farewell conversation with Vice President Gerald Ford on 9 April 1974, he stressed Indonesia's educational and health needs, transport between its islands, and the potential educational uses of television and a domestic satellite. He sought continuing American assistance as he returned to lead the Education and Culture Ministry; Ford warned that congressional cuts would constrain aid. ³

As education minister from 1974 to 1978, Thayeb oversaw work on school construction, fee relief, teacher education, and curriculum reform. His ministry established a higher education directorate and introduced joint admissions arrangements among five major universities. He later served two terms on the Supreme Advisory Council, from 1978 to 1988. ¹