Sukarni Kartodiwirjo (14 July 1916 – 7 May 1971) was an Indonesian freedom fighter and activist who demanded independence for Indonesia during the Dutch colonial era and the Japanese occupation, and was the chairman of the Murba Party until his death.

[1] He was the fifth child of Dimun Kartodiwirjo, son of Prince Diponegoro's right-hand man Onggomerto, and Supiah, a woman from Kediri.

[7] When Sukarni graduated from HIS and registered for Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs (MULO; secondary school), his father died in 1929.

[6] After graduating from MULO, Sukarni then continued his study to Kweekschool (teacher school) and Volks Universiteit (People University).

[12] Due to his activities in Indonesia Muda, Sukarni was expelled from MULO but he was allowed to take a special examination so he still graduated.

[13] Sukarni once created PPPI's rival, Persatuan Pemuda Kita because the former did not allow youths who had not attended school to join.

[15] Sukarni helped Anwari and elder sister of Sukarno, Wardoyo, to establish the Partindo Blitar chapter and for the first time met Wikana, Asmara Hadi, and SK Trimurti.

[21] Sukarni eventually was arrested by the colonial government there before the Japanese attacked the Dutch East Indies - sometime in 1940 according to Husein Yusuf,[22] while in disguise as the employee of the department of BPM.

[23] He was brought to Samarinda before being jailed in Java, which was chosen over Boven Digul because Japanese army had attacked the Dutch Indies.

[26] Sukarni, as well as employees of Antara such as Adam Malik, A.M. Sipahutar, Pandu Kartawiguna, and Abdul Hakim, and other activists such as Asmara Hadi, Mulia, Wasdji Kartawiganda, and Wikana were arrested in December 1941 because the Dutch colonial government considered them dangerous.

[30] In Jakarta, Sukarni worked for several news agencies such as Antara, which was later replaced by Dōmei Tsushin and Sendenbu (the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies's propaganda department).

[24][37] In this period, Sukarni also had some connection to Tan Malaka who worked at a Japanese factory in Bayah, Banten, at the time.

Diah and Sukarni, Sudiro, Sjarif Thajeb, Harsono Tjokroaminoto, Wikana, Chairul Saleh, Gultom, Supeno, and Asmara Hadi, who were responsible for discussing the formation of Gerakan Angkatan Baru Indonesia which was founded on 15 June.

[44] The activists from various youth groups then formed the Committee van Actie headed by Sukarni, Chairul Saleh and Wikana as vice-chairmen, and Adam Malik, Pandu Kartawiguna, Maruto Nitimihardjo, Djohar Nur, Darwis, A.M. Hanafi, and Armunanto as members.

[47] During the wait, Sukarni, dr Muwardi, Dr. Sutjipto, Chairul Saleh, Wikana, Jusuf Kunto, and the others planned the abduction of Sukarno-Hatta.

[48] Sukarni talked to Sukarno supporting the other young men's argument to declare independence when they began the abduction at dawn on the 16th.

[46] Sukarni, Singgih, Muwardi, and Jusuf Kunto took Sukarno and Hatta to Rengasdengklok while Wikana and Chairul Saleh waited in Jakarta.

[49] Latief Hendradiningrat from Pembela Tanah Air (PETA) borrowed the youths' military uniforms and pistols to fool Japanese soldiers.

They arrived in Jakarta in the evening the same day after Achmad Subardjo followed them and managed to persuade the young men to go home.

Sukarni, accompanied by Sayuti Melik and Maeda's subordinate Nishijima, then informed the people that were ready to cancel the revolt.

[53] After the Central Indonesian National Committee (KNIP) was given the authority as the legislative on 17 October, Sukarni demanded the reform of the organization and appointed Sjahrir as the chairman instead of Kasman Singodimejo and as the formateur of the KNIP Working Group[54] In November, Sukarni joined the Chairul Saleh-led Badan Kongres Pemuda in Yogyakarta.

[56] On 31 March 1946, Persatuan Perdjuangan leaders were arrested by government authorities ordered by Sjahrir including Tan Malaka, secretary general Sukarni, and Sayuti Melik.

[60] Mainly Sukarni-led Murba opposed the government policies especially Linggarjati, Renville, and KMB, except the decree reimposing 1945 Constitution.

[74] When a rumor spread that Sukarno was about to be brought before a military court, Sukarni asked Hamzah Tuppu personally to prevent it.

Sukarni reasoned that if Sukarno was imprisoned, the republic would end because it had no dignity mentioning a detainee every year in the independence celebration.

"[88] Iragiliati citing Sukarni, said that Indonesian murba (musyawarah rakyat banyak; deliberation of common people) is different than western version.

[92] On 7 November 2014, the government of Indonesia made Sukarni a National Hero along with Djamin Ginting, Mohammad Mangoendiprojo, and Abdul Wahab Chasbullah through Presidential Decree No.