Amir Hamzah Biography | Poet

Tengku Amir Hamzah (28 February 1911 – 20 March 1946) [ a ] was an Indonesian poet and National Hero of Indonesia. Born into an aristocratic family in the Sultanate of Langkat in North Sumatra, he was educated in both Sumatra and Java. Whilst attending senior high school in Surakarta around 1930, the youth became involved with the nationalist movement and fell in love with a Javanese schoolmate, Ilik Sundari. Even after Amir continued his studies in legal school in Batavia (now Jakarta ) the two remained close, only separating in 1937 when Amir was recalled to Sumatra to marry the sultan's daughter and take on responsibilities of the court. Though unhappy with his marriage, he fulfilled his courtly duties. After Indonesia proclaimed its independence in 1945, he served as the government's representative in Langkat. The following year he was killed in a social revolution led by the Communist Party of Indonesia and buried in a mass grave.