Raden Mas Panji Surachman Tjokroadisurjo was born in Wonosobo, Dutch East Indies, on 30 August 1894.

[5][6] After returning from Germany, Surachman was appointed to lead a chemical laboratory in Bandung, where he worked with batik workers and silversmiths.

In this period, he built a relationship with Bandung-based nationalists including future President Sukarno, and Surachman was relocated to Bogor due to suspicions arising from those contacts.

[7] Due to his government work, he decided against openly supporting the nationalist movement, but he did provide donations, including helping fund the 1928 Second Youth Congress.

He was reappointed into the new cabinet led by Sutan Sjahrir as Minister of Finance to replace the sick Sunarjo Kolopaking on 8 December 1945.

[9] He also announced a 45 percent increase in the salaries of high level civil servants in order to attract skilled bureaucrats.

[18] During this period, Surachman would often personally hold onto the government funds, storing the cash in suitcases inside his home.

[20] He was still active in government affairs, and after a large-scale Dutch offensive in 1947 seized much Indonesian-held territory, he formed a private company to accommodate the now-unemployed Republican civil servants around Jakarta.

[21] He died on 16 November 1952 in The Hague from hypertension, whilst on a diplomatic mission to negotiate the nationalization of Dutch tin mining companies in Indonesia.