Pembentukan Provinsi Kalimantan Utara (1999-2012)

North Kalimantan Province (Kaltara) is the 34th province or the youngest province in Indonesia. The establishment of the province is inseparable from long historical dynamics. This can be seen from the period of the establishment of the Bulungan Sultanate, the Dutch East Indies colonial government, the Japanese occupation government, until the Indonesian government. By applying historical approach, this paper aims to explain the historical dynamics of the establishment of North Kalimantan Province after 1998, since regional autonomy strengthened in 1999 through Law Number 22 of 1999 on Regional Government to the final establishment through Law Number 20 of 2012 on Establishment of North Kalimantan Province. The results of this study indicate that the establishment of the province cannot be separated from the spirit of regional autonomy that was intensified after 1998. In addition, a number of multidimensional studies in the social-economic, natural resource management, defense-security, and territorial fields have become a strong foundation for the establishment of the province. Thus, political processes, both at the central and regional levels, as well as in-depth study and great local community support were key factors in the establishment of North Kalimantan Province. This become a historical dynamic in the history of regional government in the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI)