Brief profiles of senior Indonesian cabinet members

Asian Political News, Oct 25, 2004

JAKARTA, Oct. 21 Kyodo

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was sworn in as the country's sixth president, replacing Megawati Sukarnoputri on Wednesday, announced his new Cabinet lineup early Thursday.

Following are brief profiles of some of the top Cabinet members:

-- Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Adm. Widodo Adi Sucipto

From 1999 to 2002, he became the first non-army serviceman to clinch the top position in the Indonesian Defense Force, which had been controlled by army generals for decades.

Born Aug. 1, 1944 in the Central Java town Boyolali into a teacher's family, Sucipto never wanted to have an ''impossible dream'' and chose to join the Navy Academy in 1968, because ''I wanted to go to school without having to pay the school fee,'' he once said.

Yudhoyono named him as the top security minister possibly because of their similar vision in seeking a solution to the separatist issue in troubled Aceh.

Both have said security approaches will not be able to solve the Aceh conflict. They agree the conflict can be solved only through dialogue and communication.

-- Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie

Born in Jakarta on Nov. 15, 1946, the businessman was named the top economic minister amid protests charging he is a ''black businessman'' who still has a huge debt to the state.

Graduated in electronic engineering from the Bandung Institute of Technology in 1973, Bakrie was chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry from 1994 to 2003 and of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Chamber of Commerce and Industry from 1996 to 1998.

-- State Secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra

He played an outstanding role during the 1999 presidential election by the People's Consultative Assembly, not only because of his last minute withdrawal from the presidential race, but through his legal advice and opinions that had helped the assembly avoid constitutional flaws.

Born Feb. 5, 1956, the Sumatran completed a master's in law and Islamic knowledge at the University of Indonesia and earned his doctorate in law from the University of Science in Penang, Malaysia, in 1992.

The chairman of the Muslim-based Crescent-Star Party, Mahendra is married and has a daughter.

-- Foreign Minister Nur Hassan Wirajuda

His name became publicly known when he was assigned as government negotiator in a series of meetings with the separatist Free Aceh Movement, which has been seeking for independence from Indonesia since 1976.

When Megawati named him foreign minister in 2001, many political analysts said Wirajuda was put in the position to improve the international image of Indonesia's human rights records in Aceh and the easternmost province Papua.

Born July 9, 1948, the career diplomat holds a doctorate degree in juridical science in international law of the Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville, Virginia.

-- Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono

His appointment by former President Abdurrahman Wahid in 1999 to be defense minister marked the return of a civilian to a post that went to active or retired military officers under strongman Suharto who fell from power in 1998.

When he was young, Sudarsono dreamed of becoming a diplomat, but his journey toward diplomacy saw him become a professor of international relations at the University of Indonesia instead.

For decades, his name has been repeatedly mentioned as a candidate for foreign minister, but that has never happened.

As defense minister under Wahid, the father of two sons made a breakthrough by scrapping the political role of the military. He also designed a new state defense system by launching the position of chief of staff, replacing the military commander post.

Born March 5, 1942 in the West Java town Ciamis, Sudarsono holds a doctorate from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

-- Minister of Home Affairs Ret. Lt. Gen. Mochamad Ma'aruf

Although he carries three general's stars on his shoulder and used to be the socio-political chief of staff at the Indonesian Defense Force, he is not so popular among the Indonesian public.

The former ambassador to Vietnam, however, is one of the key figures who helped bring Yudhoyono to the presidency.

The retired army general, who always appears calm and collected, was born in the Central Java town Tegal and was graduated from the National Military Academy in 1962.

-- Minister of Trade Mari Elka Pangestu

''Economic blood'' flows in her body and soul. Her father Panglaykim was a prominent Indonesian economist and the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund frequently seek economic input from her.

Holding a doctorate in international trade, finance and monetary economics from the University of California, Pangestu is a professor in the Faculty of Economy at the University of Indonesia.

Born Oct. 23, 1956, Pangestu is the first Chinese-descended woman to become a Cabinet member.

-- Minister of National Education Bambang Sudibyo

Born in the Central Java town Temanggung on Oct. 8, 1952, Sudibyo spent most of his career at Gadjah Mada University in Indonesia's cultural capital Yogyakarta.