Thee Kian Wie (; April 20, 1935 – February 8, 2014) was an Indonesian

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

and senior member of the

Indonesian Institute of Sciences The Indonesian Institute of Sciences ( id, Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia, or LIPI) was the governmental authority for science and research in Indonesia. It consists of 47 research centers in the fields ranging from social to natural scienc ...

(LIPI). ''

The Jakarta Post ''The Jakarta Post'' is a daily English-language newspaper in Indonesia. The paper is owned by PT Niskala Media Tenggara and based in the nation's capital, Jakarta. ''The Jakarta Post'' started as a collaboration between four Indonesian med ...

'' has called him "one of Indonesia’s most respected economists." He was also a long time lecturer 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 ...

's Faculty of Economics. Thee, a

Chinese Indonesian Chinese Indonesians ( id, Orang Tionghoa Indonesia) and colloquially Chindo or just Tionghoa are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries. Chinese people and their Indonesian descendants have ...

, was born in present-day

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 ...

(then known as

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

) on April 20, 1935. He obtained a ''

doctorandus Doctorandus (drs., ; ) is a Dutch academic title according to the pre-Bachelor–Master system. The female form is doctoranda (dra., though this abbreviation is no longer used). The title is acquired by passing the ''doctoraalexamen'', the exam wh ...

'' degree from the University of Indonesia in 1959. Thee then received both his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

and his

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 ...

(1969) from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded when Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848, UW–Madison ...

. His doctoral dissertation on the topic of
Plantation Agriculture and Export Growth: An Economic History of East Sumatra 1863-1942
' was a first step in establishing him as a professional economic historian of the Indonesian economy. He was awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

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 ...

in 2004, the Habibie Award in 2006, and the Sarwono Prawirohardjo Award in 2008. In 2010, in honour of his 75th birthday, Thee's colleagues prepared ''Merajut Sejarah Ekonomi Indonesia: Essays in Honour of Thee Kian Wie 75 Years Birthday'' 'Weaving Indonesia's Economic History: Essays in Honour of Thee Kian Wie 75 Years Birthday', as a ''festschrift'' for him. Thee Kian Wie suffered a fall at his home in 2014. He died from complications of his injuries at PGI Cikini Hospital in Jakarta on February 8, 2014, at the age of 79. His funeral was attended by dignitaries including the

Vice President of Indonesia The vice president of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Wakil Presiden Republik Indonesia) is second-highest officer in the executive branch of the Indonesian government, after the president, and ranks first in the presidential line of succe ...

Boediono Boediono ( EYD: Budiono, pronounced ; born 25 February 1943) is an Indonesian economist and statesman. He was the 11th vice president of Indonesia, in office from 2009 to 2014. He became vice president after winning the 2009 presidential electi ...

and analyst Dewi Fortuna Anwar. In recognition of Thee's contributions to scholarship in Indonesian economic history and of his international reputation, an ''In Memoriam'' article was published in the August 2014 issue of the ''

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 ...

''.Hal Hill, Siwage Dharma Negara, and Maria Monica Wihardja, "In Memoriam: Thee Kian Wie: Dedicated Scholar and Public Intellectual", ''

'', 50 (2), 2014: 277-87.

Main publications

* 1975. ''The Regional Economic Survey of South Sumatra, 1970-1971'', edited with Shinichi Ichimura. Jakarta: Indonesian Institute of Sciences. * 1977. ''Plantation Agriculture and Export Growth: An Economic History of East Sumatra 1863-1942.'' Jakarta: National Economic Institute, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (Leknas-LIPI). * 1981. ''Pemerataan, Kemiskinan, Ketimpangan: Beberapa Masalah Pertumbuhan Ekonomi-Kumpulan Esei'' quity, Poverty, and Disparities: Some Problems of Economic Growth Jakarta: Sinar Harapan. * 1988. ''Industrialisasi Indonesia: Analisis dan Catatan Kritis'' ndonesian Industrialisation: Analysis and Critical Notes Jakarta: Sinar Harapan. * 1988. ''The North Sumatran Regional Economy: Growth with Unbalanced Development'', with Colin Barlow. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. * 1994. ''Explorations in Indonesian Economic History.'' Jakarta: Lembaga Penerbit Fakultas Ekonomi, Universitas Indonesia. * 1994. ''Industrialisasi Indonesia: Beberapa Kajian'' tudies of Indonesian Industrialisation Jakarta: LP3ES. * 1998. ''Indonesia's Technological Challenge'', edited with Hal Hill. Singapore" Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. * 2002. ''The Emergence of a National Economy: An Economic History of Indonesia, 1800-2000'', with Howard Dick, Vincent Houben, and Thomas Lindblad. Sydney: Allen and Unwin; Leiden: KITLV Press. * 2003. ''Recollections: The Indonesian Economy, 1950s-1990s'', as editor. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. * 2012. ''Indonesia's Economy since Independence.'' Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thee, Kian Wie 1935 births 2014 deaths Indonesian economists Indonesian Institute of Sciences faculty University of Indonesia faculty University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni University of Indonesia alumni Indonesian people of Chinese descent