He also became involved with left-wing politics and led a group of younger Marxists in the establishment of the Indonesian People's Movement (Gerindo).

In 1933, due to his political activities, Amir was imprisoned, and almost exiled to the Boven-Digoel concentration camp, had it not for the efforts of his cousin and teacher.

Following the beginning of the Madiun Affair, Amir and other FDR leaders rushed to assume control of the newly formed "National Front" government.

His grandfather, Mangaraja Monang, was a Batak nobleman – who had been baptized into Christianity and named Ephraim – with the title of Sutan Gunung Tua.

[9] Throughout the 1930s, Amir was active in literary and journalistic circles, joining the editorial board of the newspaper Panorama, together with Liem Koen Hian, Sanusi Pane, and Mohammad Yamin.

[12] In mid-1936, together with his colleagues Liem, Pane, and Yamin, Amir started another newspaper, Kebangoenan, which – as with Panorama – was published by Phoa Liong Gie's Siang Po Printing Press.

[10] In 1937, towards the end of the Dutch rule, Amir led a group of younger Marxists in the establishment of the Indonesian People's Movement (Gerindo).

[14] Having watched the increased strength and influence of Imperial Japan, he was one of several Indonesian leaders who warned against the danger of fascism before the war.

When the colony was invaded by Japan, his prominent role in these campaigns prompted the head of Dutch intelligence to provide Amir with 25,000 guilders to organize an underground resistance movement.

Amir was one of a few prominent Indonesian politicians who actively fought against the Japanese, together with fellow future prime minister Sutan Sjahrir.

The party accepted the argument of Amir and its other leaders that the time was not ripe to implement socialism, rather that international support necessary for independence be sought, and that unruly constituents had to be opposed.

[24] Early in the Revolution, Amir worked closely with the country's first prime minister Sutan Sjahrir; the two played a major role in effectively shaping the arrangements linking the new government of Indonesia with its people.

[25] On 30 October Amir, along with Sukarno and Hatta, were flown into the East Javan city of Surabaya by the desperate British caretaker administration.

[26] A ceasefire was immediately adhered to, but fighting resumed after confused communications and mistrust between the two sides, leading to the Battle of Surabaya.

[27] This watershed event ushered in the so-called 'liberal' or parliamentary form of government, which prevailed against the Sukarnoist-proposed constitution for twelve years.

Leadership was thus handed to a 'modernizing' Western-minded intellectual, who at the time were thought to be the coming leaders of Asia and more palatable to Western ideas of government.

His position as minister, however, was a source of friction with the People's Security Army (TKR) and its new commander, Sudirman, who had nominated their candidate, Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX of Yogyakarta.

With an engaging personality and persuasive oratory skills, Amir had more time and aptitude than Sjahrir for party building, and he played the main part in wooing this pemuda.

Sjahrir's preoccupation with diplomacy, his physical isolation in Jakarta from revolution-infused Central Java, and his dislike of mass rallies allowed the more Moscow-inclined Marxists to assume more control in both the Socialist Party and the Left-wing as a whole.

[34] On 26 June 1947, Amir, along with two other Moscow-inclined Ministers Abdulmadjid Djojoadiningrat, and Wikana, backed by a majority of the left, withdrew their support for Sjahrir.

They argued that Sjahrir had compromised the Republic in his pursuit of diplomacy – the same charge that deposed every revolutionary government – and that in the face of Dutch belligerence, such conciliation seemed futile.

On 30 June 1947, President Sukarno appointed Amir, Adnan Kapau Gani, Soekiman Wirjosandjojo, and Setyadjit Soegondo to form a new cabinet.

In running the government, he appointed Adnan Kapau Gani as his de facto confidant in dealing with foreign affairs.

[38] Following a backlash over the Renville Agreement, for which Amir received much of the blame, PNI and Masyumi cabinet members resigned in early January 1948.

Caught by surprise by the premature coup attempt, Communist leaders, including Amir, rushed to Madiun to take charge of the government.

Musso replied on radio that he would fight to the finish, while, the People's Democratic Front branches in Banten and Sumatra announced they had nothing to do with the rebellion.

As part of a second major military offensive against the Republic, on 19 December Dutch troops occupied Yogyakarta city and the Republican government was captured, including Sukarno, Hatta, Agus Salim, and Sjahrir.