Muchtar Pakpahan (21 December 1953 – 21 March 2021) was an Indonesian labor leader who founded the first independent trade union in Indonesia.

His parents' deaths made him and his brothers and sisters orphans, and he had to work as a pedicab driver and as a paperboy during his studies in high school.

[1] After Muchtar Pakpahan finished high school, he continued his studies at the Medical Faculty of the University of North Sumatra.

He stated that he was inspired by activists, such as Hariman Siregar, Muslim Tampubolon, Nelson Parapat, and Sufri Helmi Tanjung, who were highly involved in the movement.

[1] Several prominent cases that he handled included the Inalum Asahan Project (1978–1982), the Deli Match Factory in Medan, the Mount Balak National Forest in Lampung, the firing of 2800 Jakarta Passenger Transport drivers, the sales ban imposed on street vendors in Jakarta, the Kedung Ombo case [id], and the Kampung Sawah burning.

[6] After working as a lawyer for several decades, Pakpahan went on to form the Indonesian Workers Welfare Union (Serikat Buruh Sejahtera Indonesia, SBSI) in May 1992.

In the first instance, no action was taken on the union's application, and in the second, an official from the Department of Home Affairs refused to accept the SBSI's documentation.

[8] On 11 December of the same month, Pakpahan led an SBSI delegation to the People's Consultative Assembly and proposed several changes relating to workers' welfare and working conditions.

1 of 1994, confirming the basic income of laborers to 173.500 rupiahs/month or 7.000 rupiahs/day, approving the existence of SBSI as a legal trade union, and that all of these demands shall be fulfilled before 1 April 1994.

The Diponegoro (Central Java) military commander, Major-General Soeyono, went to industrial plants to conduct dialogues with workers and laborers.

The Jaya (Jakarta) military commander, Major-General Abdullah Mahmud Hendropriyono, collected data and intelligence on workers and concluded that the strike would not threaten the productivity of factories.

[11] Several days after the letter was published, Pakpahan and a colleague from SBSI were arrested by the Semarang police on the grounds of subversion and hate speech.

His arrest was criticized by Amnesty International, Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, Human Rights Defenders Institute, Infight, and Women's Solidarity.

However, the demonstration soon turned violent after the Governor of North Sumatra, Raja Inal Siregar, only send his assistant to meet with the protesters.

[17] As of 22 April, an estimated of 33 offices and factories, 43 cars, 4 motorcycles, 9 computers, 4 televisions, and 2 antennas were either broken or destroyed during the riots.

[15] Mantiri then blamed Amosi Telaumbanua, the SBSI leader in North Sumatra, and Muchtar Pakpahan as the most responsible person for the riots.

[14] The Commander of the Armed Forces, General Feisal Tanjung, stated that the riots in North Sumatra were a communist-ridden act of subversion.

[15] The Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security, Susilo Sudarman, also remarked that the demands of the workers were absurd, such as the minimum wage raise to 7,000 rupiahs.

The marriage resulted in one girl, Ruth Damai Hati (Iyuth) in 1985, an amateur actor, and two boys, Binsar Pakpahan, a reverend, and Johannes Darta, a lawyer.