His father was man named Soedjono Soerodirjo, but he was raised by his uncle, a man known as Mantri Guru Prawirodiharjo. He wouldn't know of his real father until he reached adulthood. When he was eight years old, he and his family had to moved to Loano which is five kilometers from Purworejo. They returned to Purworejo when he was in sixth grade. Education Wilopo attended the Holland Inlandse School (HIS). He could have continued education at the Europese Hogere School (ELS), but he didn't because he wanted to continue his education at the Opleiding School Voor Inlandsche Ambtenaren (OSVIA). After graduating from HIS, Wilopo continued his education to the Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs (MULO) in Magelang. After studying at MULO, Wilopo continued his education at Algemene Middelbare School (AMS), in Yogyakarta. At AMS, Wilopo took part in exact sciences and physics. He received a scholarship to make ends meet during his life in Yogyakarta. During his saty in Yogyakarta, he enjoyed reading newsletters of the De Locomotief, Darmo Kondo and Soeara Oemoem newspapers. Through this, he found the name of Sukarno (future President of Indonesia). Wilopo also joined the Jong Java youth organization around this time. He continued his education at the Technischeh Hoge School (THS) in Bandung. There, Wilopo lived in the Prawirosentiko family's house. After some illnesses, he moved to Sukabumi, living in his cousin's house. There, he became a teacher at the Taman Siswa. He moved to Jakarta and continued his studies at the Rechts Hoge School (RHS). During this time, he lived at the house of Abdul Rasyid, a friend of his from MULO. Political career Minister of Labour Wilopo's first government position was as the Junior Minister of Labour during the First and Second Amir Sjarifuddin Cabinets from 3 July 1947 to 29 January 1948. After a brief hiatus, he became the Minister of Labour during the Republic of the United States of Indonesia Cabinet from 20 December 1949 to 6 September 1950; he was later the Minister of Trade and Industry during the Sukiman Cabinet. Prime Minister of Indonesia After completing his tenure as Minister of Trade and Industry, on 19 March 1952, Wilopo was told to choose a cabinet to lead. Three days after giving his list to President Sukarno, on 1 April he and his cabinet took power; it was essentially a coalition of necessity between the Masyumi and National parties.