Christiaan Johan (Han) Grader (Magelang, 20 March 1906 - Bennekom, 4 January 1993), born in Central Java, was educated in the Netherlands. He read law and economy at Leiden university and followed the classes of the High School for colonial civil servants in the Dutch East Indies (Opleiding tot Indisch bestuursambtenaar). He obtained his M.A. degree in 1931 and was appointed for service in the Dutch East Indies on July 1st 1932.

After his arrival in Java, Grader was assigned to Bali where he remained until 1940. In Bali he was posted successively in all districts except Tabanan (Denpasar, Kintamini, Singaraja, Gianyar and Karangasem). As district commissioner he was especially commissioned for research in Balinese village and temple organization. His stay in Bali was interrupted by a provisory assignment in Ceribon (West Java) from August 1934 until April 1935. In July 1940 he was assigned to Pamekasan (Madura), and in December 1941 to Blitar in the residency Kediri (East Java).

In April 1942, all European civilian men were taken prisoner by the Japanese, a few weeks after their invasion of Java. Grader was among them and was interned successively in five different war camps, two in East Java, Surabaya and Ngawi, and three in the vicinity of Bandung in West Java, Sukamiskin, Kampung Baros (the so-called 'Bunsho II, kamp 5', one of Cimahi’s camps), and finally another camp in Cimahi which is not specified by Grader in his résumé.

After the Japanese capitulation (15 August 1945) and his release from the war camp, Grader remained in Cimahi where he worked for the Allied Military and Civil Affairs Branch (AMACAB) from September 1945 until March 1946.

In May 1946 Grader was granted one year leave in the Netherlands to recover from the hardship of war time. His leave though was interrupted (February-March 1947) when he was sollicitated by the Dutch government to assist Tjokorda Gde Rake Sukawati, president of the State of East Indonesia, during the latter’s stay in the Netherlands. At the beginning of May 1947 Grader was appointed head of the office of the president of the Government of the State of East Indonesia. He flew to Makassar, seat of the new (short-lived) government, where he remained until October 1948. From October 1948 until March 1951, Grader was first class assistant resident at the Office of Land Utilization and Restructuring (Bureau der Landinrichting; Balai Perantjang Tata Bumi) in Bogor.

Back in the Netherlands, Grader occupied several functions before being sent to Indonesia for a new assignment: Deputy director of the Sticusa (Stichting voor Culturele Samenwerking) in Amsterdam (March-December 1951), charged with a 'special mission' (speciale opdracht) at the Nationale Handelsbank in Amsterdam (December 1951-January 1952) and subsequently head of the documentation center of the Institute of the Tropics (Instituut voor de Tropen) in Amsterdam. From November 1952 until January 1953 he was detached at the Department of Overseas Dominions (Ministerie van Overzeese Rijksdelen) in The Hague in order to prepare his mission in Dutch New Guinea. In Hollandia (Jayapura) Grader was head of the Bureau of Native Affairs (kantoor voor Bevolkingszaken) until June 1956.

Back in the Netherlands, where he would spend the remainder of his life, Grader was appointed senior researcher (wetenschappelijk hoofdmedewerker) at the section Cultural anthropology (niet-Westerse sociologie) at the Agricultural University in Wageningen. As a researcher and teacher, Grader fulfilled his function from July 1956 until his retirement on 1 April 1971. In 1963 he made a long study trip to Nigeria.

Han Grader was married to G.J.Ch. (Truus) Wijnstroom. The couple had two daughters.

Grader, who was a tall man, was called in Bali 'I Gde Lantang Siluman', the 'big, long [man who] changes his appearance'. He published several articles under this pseudonym.