Teuku Nyak Arif was born in Ulee Lheue, Kutaraja, on 17 July 1899 and died in Takengon on 4 May 1946. He studied at the Kweekschool in Bukittinggi and OSVIA in Serang, led the National Indische Partij in Kutaraja (1919), became Panglima Sagi of the XXVI Mukim (1920) and sat in the Volksraad (1927–1931), and co-founded Taman Siswa in Kutaraja. He chaired the Aceh National Committee and was the first Resident/Governor of Aceh (1945–1946), then was detained during the Cumbok war until his death; he has been a National Hero since 1974.