Djalal Maheswari

Djalal Maheswari (October 23rd 1902 - September 13th 1987 aged 87) was an ethnic  and independence activist who served on the Provisional Convention of Melanesia after being elected in 1958. He also served as the founder and leader of the People's Melanesian League until 1955 (one of the foremost independence movements in Melanesia) and as a longtime member of the Socialist Party of Melanesia until his death in 1987.

Born in 1902, Maheswari was an active opponent of in Melanesia being associated with pro-independence movements. In 1932 he formed the People's Melanesian League which called for the end of Dutch rule in Melanesia as soon as possible. During the following the start of the  he at first collaborated with the  before joining the  United Anti-Imperialist Army that fought against the Japanese occupation. Following the war he continued to lobby for Melanesian independence before it was finally granted by the in 1955. He subsequently merged the PML into the newly formed Socialist Party of Melanesia before being elected to the Provisional Convention of Melanesia in 1958.