The Linggardjati Agreement (Linggarjati in modern Indonesian spelling) was a political accord concluded on 15 November 1946 by the Dutch administration and the unilaterally declared Republic of Indonesia in the village of Linggarjati, Kuningan Regency, near Cirebon in which the Dutch recognised the republic as exercising de facto authority in Java, Madura and Sumatra. Background In 1942, the Japanese occupied the Dutch East Indies. On 17 August 1945, two days after the Japanese surrender, Indonesian nationalist leader Sukarno declared Indonesian independence. The Dutch viewed the Indonesian leadership as collaborators with the occupying Japanese, and were determined to reassert their control over the nation by force. Fighting broke out, which developed into a full-scale war of independence between Dutch forces and Indonesian republicans. By mid-1946, both sides were under pressure to negotiate. In July, 1946, Acting Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies Hubertus van Mook organised a conference in Malino at which representatives from Borneo and eastern Indonesia backed the proposal for a federal United States of Indonesia with links to the Netherlands. The negotiations On 2 September 1946, the Dutch established a Commission-General to set up a new political structure for the Dutch East Indies. This four-member commission, headed by former Dutch Prime Minister Willem Schermerhorn traveled to Jakarta to negotiate with the republican delegation. These negotiations with the Indonesian authorities began on 7 October 1946 and a ceasefire in Java and Sumatra was agreed to and signed on 14 October. Recognizing their still weakened position following World War II, the Netherlands were more prepared to negotiate with the republic than they were later in the Indonesian National Revolution. In November, the negotiations then moved to Cirebon from where it was easier to communicate with Sukarno and Hatta. Most of the negotiations took place at the residence of the Kwee family of Ciledug, now a museum, in the hill station of Linggadjati around 25 km south of Cirebon, although the final document was actually initialed in Cirebon. The Dutch side comprised the following: Willem Schermerhorn, Dutch Prime Minister from 1945-1946 F. De Boer, Liberal politician Max van Poll, Catholic Party politician Hubertus van Mook, Lieutenant General Governor (ex officio) On the Republican side were: Sutan Sjahrir, Prime Minister Amir Sjarifuddin, Defense Minister Johannes Leimena, Junior Minister of Health, chairman of the Indonesian Christian Party Former British ambassador to Egypt Lord Killearn acted as intermediary in the early stages, but he