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PROFILE
Boediono (born February 25, 1943) is an Indonesian economist and is currently
running for Vice President, together with Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Education
Boediono received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Western Australia in 1967, his master’s degree from
Monash University in 1972, and his doctorate degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in
1979. He also worked at the Australian National University in the 1970s as a research assistant.
Boediono was listed as one of the Wharton School’s 125 Influential People and Ideas in 2007 and was dubbed as “Indonesia’s
financial rudder”.
Career
Boediono was a Bank Indonesia deputy governor in charge of fiscal monetary policy from 1997 to 1998 and served
as State Minister of National Planning and Development from 1998 to October 1999.
Following the removal of Abdurrahman Wahid from the presidency in 2001,
President Megawati Sukarnoputri appointed Boediono as Minister of Finance in her new administration. Under his
leadership, the economy grew by 4% in 2002.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appointed Boediono as Coordinating Minister for the Economy during his first
cabinet reshuffle in 2005, replacing tycoon Aburizal Bakrie. Bakrie had come under suspicion for having conflicts
of interest. In 2008, a commission of the People’s Representative Council elected him Governor of Bank Indonesia.[8]
After he was selected by Yudhoyono as a running mate in the 2009 presidential election, Boediono submitted his
resignation from the central bank post.
Boediono is also a lecturer in economics at Gadjah Mada University.
Boediono’s appointment as coordinating minister for the economy is surely the main point of interest in the Cabinet
shuffle announced by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday night.
The Wharton-trained economist, who was finance minister during Megawati Soekarnoputri’s administration from 2001
to 2004, more than any other person was responsible for Indonesia’s return to macroenomic stability following the
1997 financial crisis. He commands a great deal of respect both at home and abroad for his integrity and competence.
Boediono’s record as finance minister is even more impressive considering it was achieved in extremely difficult
circumstances, when the country was still under the tough oversight of the International Monetary Fund, the highly
assertive House of Representatives was eager to meddle in the nitty-gritty of economic policy and foreign investors
remained reluctant to return to the country. And, of course, Megawati rarely reached out to the public to argue
for economic reforms.
With Sri Mulyani Indrawati, formerly the head of the National Development
Planning Board, being named finance minister and Mari Pangestu being retained as the trade minister in the new
Cabinet, Susilo has formed a solid economic team, which, as Boediono himself has acknowledged, is key to successful
economic management.
The other new members of the economic team — industry minister Fahmi Idris and the new state minister for national
development planning/National Development Planning Board chairman, Paskah Suzetta, both from the Golkar Party,
and agriculture minister Anton Apriyantono of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) — seem to have been appointed
more for their political parties’ support for Susilo’s government, rather than for their technical competence and
track records
Boediono will go a long way toward improving the integrity and credibility of the government’s economic policy-making,
unlike his predecessor, businessman Aburizal Bakrie, who constantly found himself under suspicion for having conflicts
of interest. Boediono’s knowledge of the bureaucracy, which is crucial for his role as coordinating minister, is
impressive thanks to his previous stints as state minister for national development planning and deputy governor
of Bank Indonesia.
Boediono’s calm and careful approach to getting things done will also serve him well as his team works to persuade
the House of the merits of government reform packages. We were deeply impressed by the patience Boediono showed
when, as finance minister, he spent about half of his time persuading and prodding House members to approve the
government’s economic reforms.
However, to be effective Boediono and his team must have the full trust and backing of the President. Only this
will allow the economic team to draft and implement coherent and consistent economic policies.
Boediono realizes the importance of a coherent and credible strategy that
outlines how the various individual policies hang together, outlining the broad direction in which the economy
is being steered. This is an important element that was notably lacking under the previous economic team due to
a lack of strong and credible leadership.
The President must shield his new economic team from intervention by vested interests, and should see to it that
Boediono, as the chief economics minister, is fully in charge of drafting and implementing economic policies, based
on the direction set by Susilo.
The new economic team will have to hit the ground running because the economy remains the country’s most troublesome
sector. Further strengthening macroeconomic stability, in itself a formidable task, is not enough. Macroeconomic
stability must be translated into vibrant microeconomic sectors to generate productive jobs.
Boediono must act immediately to improve coordination between fiscal and monetary policies in the current high
inflationary environment, and expedite the disbursement of the 2005 development budget, of which only about 30
percent has so far been realized.
He should also resume the restructuring of the finance ministry, which seems to have been stopped by bureaucratic
inertia and vested interests, to allow the ministry to perform its new functions as stipulated in the Law on State
Finances and the Law on the Treasury.
He should exert strong leadership to gain a national political consensus on the tax and customs bills being deliberated
by the House. It is worth remembering that inefficient and corrupt tax and customs services have proven to be the
main barriers to new investment.
Boediono cannot perform miracles, but his impeccable integrity, credibility and competence will help improve the
credibility and consistency of the government’s economic policy-making, as well as showing the market in which
direction the economy is being steered.
Boediono
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13th Governor of Bank Indonesia
May 22, 2008 – May 16, 2009
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Coordinating Minister for the Economy
December 7, 2005 – June 26, 2008a
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Minister of Finance
August 9, 2001 – October 20, 2004
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State Minister of Planning and National Development
May 21, 1998 – October 20, 1999
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Born February 25, 1943 (1943-02-25) (age 66)
Blitar, East Java
Alma mater University of Western Australia
Monash University
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Profession Economist
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