(17 November 1927 – 12 November 2010)

Des Alwi was born and grew up in the Banda Islands. When two important nationalist revolutionaries, Mohammad Hatta and Sutan Sjahrir, were exiled to Banda Naira, Des joined their school to study and soon was recognized for his quick mind and initiative. When Hatta and Sjahrir left Banda Naira, he followed them to the island of Java where they provided him with education and where he became acquainted with all major members of the Indonesian independence struggle. After the Indonesian independence was declared and the battle for recognition was fought, he became an important diplomat for Indonesia. In 1966 he returned to Indonesia and used his extensive network to rescue Banda from neglect and decay. He founded the Banda Cultural and Heritage Foundation, which owns and restored several historical buildings including the governors house, the houses where Hatta and Sjahrir lived during their exile and Fort Belgica.