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I Gusti Bagus Oka (January 26, 1910 – July 22, 1992) was the former Governor of Lesser Sunda (Later became Province of Bali) and along with his wife, Gedong Bagus Oka, were the founding members of the Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia. I Gusti Bagus Oka held various government offices throughout his public service career, while Gedong Bagus Oka served as Member of Parliament. The couple was also actively involved in social activity and founded Ashram Gandhi in Candidasa, Bali.

Early Life and Movement Activist

I Gusti Bagus Oka, addressing the public during an open session

I Gusti Bagus Oka was born in Rendang, Karangasem, Bali on January 26, 1910. He was born in Balinese aristocracy from Puri Kawan. Although Bali is predominantly a Hindu community, the Muslim community in Sasak, Lombok gave him the title ‘Baginda Usman’, due to historical relationship between the Balinese Hindu and Lombok Muslims, reflecting inter-religious harmony at that time.

Thanks to his background he was given the opportunity to access public education, a luxury that was unattainable by most of common population in Bali. He married Gedong Bagus Oka, the daughter of village council member in Karangasem. Sharing similar background and vision for Bali, the couple were engaged in political and social activities.

During the Malino Conference of 1946, I Gusti Bagus Oka was one of the representatives from Bali. At that conference, he stated that Bali wanted to become a state in the commonwealth of the Republic of Indonesia. I Gusti Bagus Oka was also one of the 57 representatives from Bali for the Denpasar Conference of 1946, which formed the East Indonesia State.

Government Offices Held

I Gusti Bagus Oka (left) with President Soekarno

I Gusti Bagus Oka’s first public service appointment took place on January 29, 1934 where he took over as the regent of Rendang from his predecessor, I Kadek Rauh. Rendang was an administrative district of Karangasem, under which the renowned Pura Besakih temple is located. I Gusti Bagus Oka’s father, I Gusti Made Bengkel, was also a former regent of Rendang who served between 1894 and 1914 and played an important role in the affairs of Pura Besakih.

After serving as regent of Rendang until 30 June 1938, I Gusti Bagus Oka became a member of Paruman Agung, the legislative body of Bali which consisted of 40 members, a large portion of which were elected from Buleleng, Jembrana, Tabanan, Badung, Gianyar, Klungkung, Bangli and Karangasem. I Gusti Bagus Oka served as the Secretary of Paruman Agung between 1946 - 1949.

Between August 23, 1945 and August 15, 1950, I Gusti Bagus Oka served as the member of the Office of the Governor for Lesser Sunda under I Gusti Ketut Pudja. At that time Lesser Sunda was a province as part of the State of East Indonesia, with Singaraja as its civic centre.

With the dissolution of the State of East Indonesia, I Gusti Bagus Oka was appointed as Governor of Lesser Sunda (Later renamed as Province of Nusa Tenggara in 1954) on August 15, 1950. This new administration acted quickly to implement bureaucracy reform, starting with the creation of lower administrative regions (including Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara), followed by the dissolution of the Paruman Agung on September 20, 1950. Shortly after, the first provincial parliament was established on September 25, 1950.

In 1958, the three administrative regions became independent provinces, which led to the dissolution of the Lesser Sunda Province. I Gusti Bagus Oka briefly served as the acting Governor of Bali during a transitional period before he retired from public service in 1959. The creation of Bali as an independent province embodies the idea that was first brought forward by I Gusti Bagus Oka during the Malino Conference back in 1946.