of the war against the returning Dutch troops. During the war, he took part in the guerilla war against the Dutch around Wonosobo and Magelang. After the Dutch retreated from Indonesia in 1949, Sudharmono completed his Secondary Education before going to Jakarta in 1952 to join the Military Law Academy, which he completed the course in 1956. It was around this time that he befriended then-military officer Leonardus Benjamin Moerdani. He then served in Medan, North Sumatra, as an Army Attorney from 1957 to 1961. In 1962, Sudharmono received his degree in law after completing a course at Military Law University. After this, Sudharmono was appointed chairman of the Central Government Personnel Orders Unit and provided administrative assistance to the government. During the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation, President Sukarno formed the Supreme Operations Command (KOTI), which was a war command immediately under Sukarno's control. In 1963, Sudharmono joined KOTI and was given the role of Joint Centre Operations Member for the Supreme Operations. In October 1965, following the 30 September Movement, Major General Suharto was appointed Army Commander and joined KOTI as the organizations Chief of Staff. Suharto would go on to form a relationship with Sudharmono during these tense times in Indonesian history and it was evident that Sudharmono earned Suharto's trust. On 11 March 1966, when Suharto received the Emergency Powers from Sukarno, Sudharmono was the one who reproduced copies of the letter to be distributed to other military officers. The next day, on 12 March 1966, Sudharmono was also the one to write the decree banning the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). State Secretary KOTI was disbanded by Suharto in 1968, but Sudharmono, likely due to his administrative skills and the trust that he had earned from Suharto, would become the Cabinet Secretary as well as Chairman of the Economic Stability Council. In 1970, Sudharmono was moved from the position of Cabinet Secretary to the position of State Secretary, a position which allowed him to assist Suharto in the day-to-day running of the Government. Whilst State Secretary, Sudharmono also covered for other ministers when they were unable to perform their duties; with short stints as Interim Information Minister and Interim Home Affairs Minister as well as helping to produce Suharto's accountability speech before the People Consultative Assembly (MPR). In 1980, Sudharmono's position as State Secretary received a significant boost through a presidential decision which gave the State Secretary the power