John Wattilete
John Wattilete | |
|---|---|
| President of the Republic of South Maluku | |
| Assumed office 17 April 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Frans Tutuhatunewa |
| Prime minister and vice-president of the Republic of South Maluku | |
| In office April 2003 – c. April 2010 | |
| President | Frans Tutuhatunewa |
| Preceded by | Pieter Thenu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1954 (age 71–72) Bemmel, Netherlands |
| Education | LL.M., Radboud University |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Gerardus Johannes "John" Wattilete (born 1954) is the president of the Republic of South Maluku's government-in-exile in the Netherlands, where he also practices law.
Personal life
[edit source]Gerardus Johannes Wattilete was born in 1954[1] in Bemmel, Netherlands,[2][3] to a South Moluccan father and a Dutch mother. In 1983,[1] he graduated from Radboud University Nijmegen with a Master of Laws, and was working as a lawyer in Amsterdam in 2016.[2]
Career
[edit source]In 1995, Wattilete was appointed as a minister in the cabinet of the Republic of South Maluku's[1] government-in-exile.[2] In 1999, he twice traveled to Indonesia and met with the presidents, B. J. Habibie and Abdurrahman Wahid.[4][1]
In April 2003, Wattilete became the Republic of South Maluku's prime minister and vice president, replacing Pieter Thenu in those offices.[1]
Presidency
[edit source]On 17 April 2010, Wattilete was sworn in as president of the Republic of South Maluku, replacing Frans Tutuhatunewa, and becoming the nation's first Dutch-born president.[1]
In October 2010, he filed a lawsuit in The Hague, asking the court to arrest the president of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, upon his impending visit to the Netherlands; Yudhoyono cancelled his trip in response.[1] In 2016 when a new Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, was scheduled to visit the Netherlands, Wattilete did not plan to file suit, saying that Widodo instead had the goodwill to solve the Maluku issue.[2]
References
[edit source]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Suhendi, Adi (6 October 2010). Iswidodo (ed.). "Inilah Sosok John Wattilete yang Membidik Presiden SBY" [Here Is the Figure of John Wattilete Who Is Targeting President SBY] (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Tribun Network. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
SBY Cancels Trip to the Netherlands
- 1 2 3 4 "Presiden RMS: Biarkan Rakyat Maluku Menentukan Nasib Sendiri" [RMS President: Let the Maluku People Decide Their Own Fate]. Tempo (in Indonesian). Interviewed by Riadhini, Prita. Amsterdam. 22 April 2016. ISSN 0126-4273. Archived from the original on 24 August 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
- ↑ "Molukse leider Frans Tutuhatunewa overleden" [Moluccan leader Frans Tutuhatunewa passed away] (in Dutch). Nederlandse Omroep Stichting. 25 October 2016. Archived from the original on 8 January 2026. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
- ↑ Boom, Joeri (8 July 2000). van Amerongen, Martin (ed.). "'We dachten dat ons isolement voorbij was'" ['We thought our isolation was over']. De Groene Amsterdammer (in Dutch). ISSN 1384-5896. Archived from the original on 7 January 2003. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
RMS-premier John Wattilete roept Nederland op zich in te zetten voor een humanitaire interventie op de Molukken.
[RMS Prime Minister John Wattilete calls for the Netherlands to commit to a humanitarian intervention in the Moluccas.]