Atmakusumah Astraatmadja was chairman of the Indonesian first independent Press Council (Dewan Pers) since May 2000 until August 2003, currently lecturer of press ethics and press law at the journalism training center Soetomo Press Institute (Lembaga Pers Dr. Soetomo, LPDS) in Jakarta since May 1992 and member of the LPDS Board of Experts since March 2003.

He is member or founding member of:

• The Voice of Human Rights (VHR) radio station, Jakarta
• The Indonesian Institute for the Independence of Judiciary (LeIP), Jakarta
• The Integrity Council of the Society Initiative to Enhance Law Enforcement (Impak), Jakarta
• The Press Freedom Committee, Jakarta
• The Indonesian Committee to Protect Journalists, Jakarta
• The Indonesian Press and Broadcasting Community (MPPI), Jakarta
• The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) in Bangkok
• The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) in Columbia, USA.

He was formerly:

• Member of the Press Ethics Council of the Independent Journalists Alliance (AJI)

Working experiences:

• Chairman of the Ombudsmans Team of the Jakarta-based Kompas daily between March 2000 and February 2003
• Executive director of the journalism training center Soetomo Press Institute (Lembaga Pers Dr. Soetomo, LPDS) in Jakarta (February 1994—August 2002)
• Information specialist at the US Information Service, US Embassy, in Jakarta (1974—1992)
• Managing editor of the Indonesia Raya daily (banned by the Soeharto government in January 1974) in Jakarta
• Commentator for national and international issues of Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) in Jakarta
• Chief of foreign affairs desk and news reporting coordinator of the Antara news agency in Jakarta
• Announcer of the Indonesian section of Deutsche Welle (Radio Germany) in Cologne, then West Germany, and the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) in Melbourne, Australia
• Editorial staff of the Duta Minggu weekly newspaper and Persbiro Indonesia (PIA news agency) in Jakarta.

Atmakusumah is the author of Press Freedom and the Flow of Information in Indonesia (Kebebasan Pers dan Arus Informasi di Indonesia) (1981) and editor of nine other books. He has written opinion articles on journalism, the media and press freedom for 30 books. He is also the editor and a contributor of mass communication entries of the 18-volume National Encyclopædia of Indonesia (Ensiklopedi Nasional Indonesia).

As a columnist he has written opinion articles for 20 newspapers and magazines as well as for the internet media Tempo Interaktif.

During the past 30 years he speaks in seminars and workshops on journalism and press freedom and free expression in about 40 cities and towns in Indonesia.

Atmakusumah is the 2000 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts. The award was presented by the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation in Manila on August 31, 2000.

He was born in the town of Labuan, the Province of Banten, West Java, on October 20, 1938. He is married to Sri Rumiati Atmakusumah, former librarian of the Indonesian National Library and the Center for Military History of the Indonesian Armed Forces and co-editor of some of the books edited by her husband. They have three sons, Kresnahutama Astraatmadja (32), Rama Ardana Astraatmadja (30) and Tri Laksmana Astraatmadja (22).*