The Pancasila Building currently belongs to and is under the preservation of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

[2] It was built in 1830 as a residence for Prince (Hertog) Bernhard van Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1792-1862), the German-born commander of the Dutch colonial army.

[3][4] The building was used by successive army commanders until the headquarters was moved to Bandung some time between 1914 and 1917.

In 1918, the building housed the Volksraad of the Dutch East Indies, the first national-level council which included native Indonesian representation.

[1][4] With the dissolution of the Volksraad during the Japanese occupation, from 1943, the building was re-purposed for the Central Advisory Council, an advisory body set up by the Japanese, and in 1945 was used by the Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence (BPUPK).