Mahendra Siregar (born in Jakarta on 17 October 1962) is the chief of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) of Indonesia. He previously served as Deputy Foreign Minister and was formerly the Indonesian Ambassador to the United States. On 25 October 2019 he was appointed as the deputy minister of foreign affairs supporting Indonesian foreign minister

Retno Marsudi Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi (born 27 November 1962) is an Indonesian diplomat who has been serving as the Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet of Joko Widodo since 2014. She is the first female minister appointed to the post. She was ...

in the second Jokowi cabinet appointed two days earlier on 23 October. Earlier, he had been appointed as Ambassador to the US by president Joko Widodo in 2018. He had taken up his post in Washington DC in early 2019. Mahendra is a respected economist in Indonesia who has held various senior positions within the Indonesian bureaucracy.

Early life

Mahendra Siregar's family background is Sumatran. His parents are from the Angkola group, part of the

Batak people Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo, Pakpak, Simalungun, Toba, ...

from South Tapanuli in North Sumatra, and from the

Minangkabau Minangkabau may refer to: * Minangkabau culture, culture of the Minangkabau people * Minangkabau Culture Documentation and Information Center * Minangkabau Express, an airport rail link service serving Minangkabau International Airport (''see belo ...

group in

West Sumatra West Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Barat) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. The province has an area of , with a population of 5,534,472 at the 2020 cen ...

. He is married to Ita Siregar. Mahendra undertook tertiary education, first, 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 D ...

in Jakarta. He later graduated with a Masters in Economics from

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university h ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia, in 1991.

Work with government

A brief summary of Mahendra Siregar's work with government is as follows: * 1986: joined the Indonesian Department of Foreign Affairs as a young staff member. * 1992-1995: Third Secretary (economic), Indonesian Embassy,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. * 1998-2001: Information Counsellor, Indonesian Embassy, Washington DC, United States. * 2001: Staff member, Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Jakarta, including duties as a special assistant to Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs in the Megawati administration. * 2005-2009: Deputy Minister for international economic and financial relations, Coordinating Ministry for Economics and Finance, working successively to ministers

Aburizal Bakrie Aburizal Bakrie (born 15 November 1946) is an Indonesian politician and a widely recognised successful businessman in Indonesia. From 2004 until 2005 Bakrie served as Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Economy. From 2005 until 2009 he serv ...

(2005-2006),

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 ...

(2006-2008), and Sri Mulyani Indrawati (2008-2009) who were Coordinating Ministers for Economic Affairs during this period. * 2009: Deputy Minister for Trade, working with

Mari Elka Pangestu 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 since 2020. The President of the World Bank, David Malpass, announced her appointmen ...

, Minister for Trade. * 2011-2013: Deputy Minister for Finance. * 2013-2015: Chair
Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board
(''Badan Koordinasi Penanaman Modal'', or BKPM). * 2018: Appointed Indonesian ambassador to the United States. * 2019: Deputy minister of foreign affairs supporting Indonesian foreign minister

. Following Mahendra's appointment as deputy minister of foreign affairs in October 2019, it was reported that President Jokowi had indicated that he should take on two main tasks: concluding trade negotiations with the

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 territori ...

on specific matters, and taking steps to support the Indonesian

palm oil industry Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...

. Outlining his duties to the media, Mahendra noted a US review of

Generalized System of Preferences The Generalized System of Preferences, or GSP, is a preferential tariff system which provides tariff reduction on various products. The concept of GSP is very different from the concept of " most favored nation" (MFN). MFN status provides equal tre ...

was underway and that Indonesia's involvement would need immediate attention. A successful outcome, he observed, could lead to a doubling of Indonesia's trade with the US within five years. Mahendra said that his second main task would focus on "neutralizing the EU's unfriendly position" on the palm oil industry in Indonesia. Earlier in the year, in March, the EU had decided to phase out the use of palm oil by 2030 because of deforestation concerns. Indonesia planned to engage the EU on the policy. A short time later, in early December 2019, Mahendra took steps to voice concern on behalf of Indonesia about the way that the narrative about palm oil issues in Indonesia was presented in the international media. In response to a report aired on international

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

reports entitled "Borneo is burning: How the world's demand for palm oil is driving deforestation in Indonesia", Mahendra claimed that the report was not constructive and provided a false narrative. He noted that the

Indonesian government The term Government of Indonesia ( id, Pemerintah Indonesia) can have a number of different meanings. At its widest, it can refer collectively to the three traditional branches of government – the executive branch, legislative branch and ju ...

was taking steps to address the problem and that the Indonesian government's efforts should receive international support.

Other positions

Other positions which have been held by Mahendra Siregar include the following: * 2003-2008: Commissioner of the state-owned ''PT Dirgantara Indonesia''. * 2007-2009: Indonesian representative at the UN FCCC (

UN Framework Convention on Climate Change The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established an international environmental treaty to combat "dangerous human interference with the climate system", in part by stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in th ...

). * 2008-2009: Commissioner of ''PT Aneka Tambang'', a mining company. * 2009-2010: Chair and CEO of the newly-created Indonesi
Eximbank
* 2010: Indonesian sherpa to G20 meetings appointed by president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. * 2012: President commissioner of state-owned cement firm ''PT Semen Gresik''. * 2016: Executive director of th
council for Palm Oil Producing Countries
* 2016: Non-executive director and chair,

Bank Mandiri PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk or Bank Mandiri, headquartered in Jakarta, is the largest bank in Indonesia in terms of assets, loans and deposits. Total assets as of March 2021, were IDR 1.58 quadrillion (around US$110.56 billion). As ...

(Europe) Ltd Bank Mandiri Annual Report 2018
p. 128.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siregar, Mahendra 1962 births Indonesian diplomats Indonesian economists University of Indonesia alumni Monash University alumni People of Batak descent Living people Onward Indonesia Cabinet