Indonesia’s President-elect Joko Widodo has appointed a high-powered transition team to devise a list of programs his administration could implement..
1. Rini Sumarno, head
A personal confidant of former president Megawati Sukarnoputri, who now chairs the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) that backed Mr. Widodo’s candidacy. Ms. Sumarno – whose father was a Cabinet member under Sukarno, Indonesia’s founding president and Mrs. Sukarnoputri’s father – served as minister of trade and industry during Ms. Sukarnoputri’s presidency in the early 2000s. The 56-year-old U.S.-educated technocrat previously held a senior position at the now-defunct Indonesian Banking Restructuring Agency at the height of 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. Outside of public office, Ms. Sumarno was the chief executive of Astra International, an Indonesian conglomerate with interests in consumer goods, automobiles, mining and financial services.
2. Anies Baswedan, deputy
The 45-year-old rector of Paramadina University gained a widespread following among Indonesian youth after he initiated a program called Indonesia Mengajar (Teaching Indonesia), which deploys young graduates to remote locations to teach elementary school. He was further propelled into the national spotlight after becoming Mr. Widodo’s campaign spokesperson. He holds a doctorate in philosophy from Northern Illinois University.
3. Andi Widjajanto, deputy
An international relations lecturer at the University of Indonesia, Mr. Widjajanto is a PDI-P member and was part of Mr. Widodo’s advisory team during the recent campaign. The 42-year-old military expert, whose late father was a senior PDI-P member and advisor to Mrs. Sukarnoputri, is well-regarded among military personnel and activists in the country. He holds two master’s degrees, one from Washington’s National Defense University and the other from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences.
4. Hasto Kristiyanto, deputy
A past member of Parliament from 2004 to 2009, Mr. Kristiyanto, 48, is currently the vice secretary general of PDI-P and a confidant of Mrs. Sukarnoputri. During his time as a lawmaker, he strongly opposed increasing food imports, arguing that the government should extend assistance to farmers instead by helping them increase their yields and streamline a supply chain that has caused local goods to be pricier than imported ones.
5. Akbar Faizal, deputy
A former legislator from the Hanura party, 45-year-old Mr. Faizal swapped allegiances last year and is now a senior official with Nasdem, one of the parties supporting Mr. Widodo’s presidential bid. The former journalist caught public attention when he pushed for a Parliamentary inquiry into corruption allegations surrounding the bailout of a small bank back in 2008. The legal proceedings in the case are ongoing, with the country’s anti-corruption court last month sentencing a former senior central banker to 10 years in jail.
