Indonesia’s Prabowo appoints career diplomat as foreign minister

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has replaced Foreign Minister Sugiono with a career diplomat in his second cabinet change to a senior post in less than three weeks. Prabowo announced the appointment in a cabinet reshuffle on Thursday. The incoming minister previously served as the foreign ministry’s permanent representative to the United Nations in New York, while Sugiono was appointed Human Development minister.

The new minister had been Sugiono’s deputy at the foreign ministry. The appointment is expected to bring changes to the ministry’s direction, according to the supplied report, although it does not specify the scope or timing of any such changes. Sugiono was not a career diplomat and came from Prabowo’s Gerindra party.

Indonesia’s state news agency Antara had described him as Prabowo’s “ideological child” and one of the president’s most trusted aides. Analysts said the foreign ministry had been sidelined as Prabowo played a more dominant role in foreign policy. Sugiono had maintained a low public profile and rarely appeared in the media during his time in office.

During Sugiono’s tenure, Indonesia entered Brics, a grouping of major emerging economies. Jakarta also decided to join US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace initiative for Gaza and pledged troops to a proposed international stabilisation force for the territory. The reshuffle follows Prabowo’s replacement of Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa on September 14.

Purbaya was replaced by his deputy, Suahasil Nazara, a move investors welcomed as potentially helpful in restoring confidence in Indonesia’s US$1.5 trillion G20 economy after months of uncertain policymaking. The supplied material does not give a reason for Sugiono’s reassignment or details of the incoming minister’s immediate policy priorities. It identifies the change as a significant personnel move in Prabowo’s administration.