Mari Elka Pangestu (; born 23 October 1956), is an Indonesian economist who has been managing director of Development Policy and Partnerships in the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
since 2020. The President of the World Bank,
David Malpass
David Robert Malpass (born March 8, 1956) is an American economic analyst and former government official serving as President of the World Bank Group since 2019. Malpass previously served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affa ...
, announced her appointment on 9 January 2020 saying that she would be responsible for development policy and partnerships in her role in the bank. Previously she served as Minister of Trade in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
from October 2004 to October 2011.
Pangestu has had extensive policy-making experience in Indonesia. Following her period as Minister for Trade, in a cabinet reshuffle in October 2011 she was appointed to the newly created position of minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, a post she held until the term of the administration of president
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (born 9 September 1949), commonly referred to by his initials SBY, is an Indonesian politician and retired army general who served as the sixth president of Indonesia from 2004 to 2014. A member of the Democratic Party ...
finished on 20 October 2014.
Early life and education
Born in
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
, Pangestu obtained her bachelor's and master's degrees from the
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...
, and her
Doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
in
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
from the
University of California at Davis
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, in 1986.
Career in academia
Earlier in her career, Pangestu worked at the
Centre for Strategic and International Studies
The Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a non-profit organization based in Indonesia which has served as a think tank on social, international, political and economical issues. CSIS was founded on Sept 1, 1971 by a group of ...
(CSIS) in Jakarta and was active over a long period in various trade forums such as
PECC. She also served as an instructor in the Faculty of Economics & Business in the
University of Indonesia
The University of Indonesia ( id, Universitas Indonesia, abbreviated as UI) is a public university in Depok, West Java and Salemba, Jakarta, Indonesia. It is one of the oldest tertiary-level educational institutions in Indonesia (known as the Dut ...
. She is widely published in the Indonesian and international media. She serves on the Board of External Editors of the ''Asian Journal of Business'' (University of Michigan) and ''
Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies
The ''Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies'' (BIES) is a peer-reviewed academic journal produced at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. It publishes articles and notes about the Indonesian economy. The BIES has been published ...
'' (produced by the
Indonesia Project
The Indonesia Project is a center of research and graduate training on the Indonesian economy at the Australian National University (ANU). It is located in the Arndt-Corden Department of Economics, Crawford School of Public Policy, part of the AN ...
at the Australian National University). She also served as co-coordinator of the Task Force on Poverty and Development for the
United Nations Millennium Project
The Millennium Project was an initiative that focused on detailing the organizational means, operational priorities, and financing structures necessary to achieve the Millennium Development Goals or (MDGs). The goals are aimed at the reduction of ...
.
After finishing her term as a minister Pangestu resumed regular activities in the
Centre for Strategic and International Studies
The Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a non-profit organization based in Indonesia which has served as a think tank on social, international, political and economical issues. CSIS was founded on Sept 1, 1971 by a group of ...
in Jakarta as well as serving as a professor in international economics in the Economics Faculty at the
University of Indonesia
The University of Indonesia ( id, Universitas Indonesia, abbreviated as UI) is a public university in Depok, West Java and Salemba, Jakarta, Indonesia. It is one of the oldest tertiary-level educational institutions in Indonesia (known as the Dut ...
.
Political career
Pangestu is the first female
Indonesian with Chinese descent to hold a cabinet position in Indonesia. After her appointment to the new cabinet position of Tourism and Creative Economy she spent time explaining the approach of the government towards fostering creative sectors of the economy in a number of statements.
The initial listing of the 14 sub-sectors included in the scope of the
creative economy part of the Ministry was the following:
Tourism
When focusing on tourism priorities within her portfolio she was both supportive of plans to develop the tourist sector but also pointed some well-known problems. She noted, for example, that problems of hygiene, security, and poor infrastructure constitute handicaps for the industry in Indonesia. She discussed the need for a strategy to develop the tourist sector. She also emphasised that a range of challenges would need to be tackled in promoting the sector in Indonesia and that some of the challenges would take time to overcome. Other steps she announced with the aim of promoting tourism included an emphasis on sports tourism, with priority to be given to the promotion of golf in the short-term and increasing attention to other activities such as yachting over the longer-term.
In late 2012 Pangestu expressed the hope that up to 10 million foreign tourists would visit Indonesia in 2014. She noted that there had been a falling away of tourists visiting Indonesia from Europe following the economic problems in 2011 and 2012 in the eurozone. However, she said that the government hoped that foreign tourist arrivals from countries in the Asia-Pacific region would hopefully offset the fall in tourists from Europe. She particularly pointed to the importance of the Chinese market where, she said, outbound tourists had climbed to 70 million in 2011.
Creative economy
After being given responsibility for creative economy matters in 2011, Pangestu was energetic in promoting a wide range of activities in the sector. She urged regional governments to promote local creative activities and spoke of the importance of strengthening intellectual property rights so as to encourage young Indonesian artists and creative entrepreneurs to develop Indonesian products. In November 2012, with the support of the Panglaykim Foundation, she supported the visit of creative economy author
John Howkins
John Anthony Howkins (born 3 August 1945) is a British author and speaker on Creative Industries, particularly the development of this economic sector in China. He is visiting professor, University of Lincoln, England, and vice dean an ...
to Jakarta to discuss policies to promote creative economy activities.
Although she was respected in the WTO and in international forums such as the G20, Pangestu often clashed with cabinet colleagues who wanted to protect domestic interests. She was also criticised by domestic industry groups for supporting trade-promotion measures rather than looking to increase protection for domestic producers. Her response to these criticisms was to note that Indonesia needed to adhere to international commitments to promote trade-oriented policies and that freer trade brought many benefits to domestic consumers and producers in Indonesia.
Later career
In late December 2012 the Indonesian Government nominated Pangestu as a candidate for the position of Director-General of the
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation
in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...
(WTO) to succeed the incumbent Director-General,
Pascal Lamy
Pascal Lamy (born 8 April 1947) is a French political consultant and businessman. He was the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) from 1 September 2005 to 1 September 2013 for 8 years. In April 2009, WTO members reappointed Lamy ...
, whose term ended in 2013. The General Council of the WTO considered nominations from various countries in early 2013. The selection process went through various rounds and in late April 2013 eliminated all three candidates from the Asia-Pacific region; the role eventually went to
Roberto Azevêdo
Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo (; born 3 October 1957) is a Brazilian career diplomat who served as Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) from 2013 until 2020. Since 2020, he has been Executive Vice President and Director of Corpo ...
.
Recognition
In December 2013, in recognition of her achievements as an economist and policy maker in Asia, Pangestu was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Australian National University (ANU). While visiting Canberra to receive the degree she recalled her years as a student in Australia when her father was academic staff member at the ANU.
[Larissa Nicholson,]
Indonesian Tourism Minister says cordial times can return for Australia-Indonesia'
, ''The Canberra Times'', 18 December 2013.
Personal life
Pangestu is married to Adi Harsono and has two children, Raymond and Arya.
See also
*
List of Chinese Indonesians
This is a list of notable Chinese Indonesians:
Academics
* Arief Budiman (史福仁), sociologist, professor, University of Melbourne, formerly at Satya Wacana Christian University, brother of Soe Hok Gie.
* Hadi Soesastro (陳余明), economi ...
References
External links
CSIS biographical sketch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pangestu, Mari Elka
1956 births
Living people
Australian National University alumni
Indonesian people of Chinese descent
Government ministers of Indonesia
Indonesian Hokkien people
People from Jakarta
Indonesian politicians of Chinese descent
Indonesian Roman Catholics
University of California, Davis alumni
University of Indonesia faculty
Indonesian economists
Indonesian women academics
Women government ministers of Indonesia
Eisenhower Fellows
Trade ministers of Indonesia
21st-century Indonesian women politicians
21st-century Indonesian politicians