The Indonesian House of Representatives has undergone several changes from the colonial era to the Central Indonesian National Committee (KNIP) period. The three major periods include:

1. Volksraad
2. Struggle for the National Independence
3. The Central Indonesian National Committee (KNIP)

In summary, they can be described as follows:

In the Dutch colonial period, a parliament-equivalent institution called Volskraad was established by the Dutch government. By March 8th 1942, the Dutch ended their 350 years of colonization in Indonesia. The following transition to Japanese colonization had automatically annulled Volskraad, and not too long after that, the struggle for independence period followed.

The history of the Indonesian House of Representatives began when the Indonesian Central Indonesian National Committee was established by the President on August 29th 1945 (12 days after the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence) in Kesenian Building, Pasar Baru, Jakarta. KNIP’s inauguration date (August 29) has been since then set as the anniversary of the Indonesian House. The first session of KNIP resulted with the formation of leaders as follows:

• Speaker : Mr. Kasman Singodimedjo
• Vice Speaker I : Mr. Sutardjo Kartohadikusumo
• Vice Speaker II : Mr. J. Latuharhary
• Vice Speaker III : Adam Malik