Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi (born 27 November 1962) is an Indonesian diplomat who has been serving as the

Minister for Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

in the Cabinet of Joko Widodo since 2014. She is the first female minister appointed to the post. She was previously the Indonesian Ambassador to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

from 2012 to 2014, as well as Ambassador to

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

from 2005 to 2008.

Early life and education

Born in Semarang, Marsudi graduated from SMAN 3 Semarang and continued her study in

International Relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

, graduating from

Gadjah Mada University Gadjah Mada University ( jv, ꦈꦤꦶꦥ꦳ꦼꦂꦱꦶꦠꦱ꧀ꦓꦗꦃꦩꦢ; id, Universitas Gadjah Mada, abbreviated as UGM) is a Public university, public research university located in Sleman Regency, Sleman, Yogyakarta (special region) ...

in 1985. She then pursued a

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.

in International European Law & Policy at The Hague University of Applied Science and followed the Foreign Ministry training program at the

Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael The Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael ( nl, Nederlands Instituut voor Internationale Betrekkingen Clingendael) or Clingendael Institute (''Instituut Clingendael'') is a Dutch think tank and academy on international relat ...

Career in the diplomatic service

Marsudi joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from university. Between 1997 and 2001, Marsudi served as First Secretary for Economic Affairs at the Indonesian Embassy in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

, Netherlands. In 2001, she was appointed as Director of Europe and America Affairs. Marsudi was promoted to Director of West Europe Affairs in 2003. In 2005, Marsudi was appointed as the Indonesian Ambassador to Norway and Iceland. During her tenure, she was awarded the

Royal Norwegian Order of Merit The Royal Norwegian Order of Merit (Norwegian: ''Den Kongelige Norske Fortjenstorden'' (Bokmål) or ''Den Kongelege Norske Fortenesteordenen'' (Nynorsk)) was instituted by King Olav V in 1985. It is awarded to foreigners, Norwegian citizens livi ...

in December 2011, the first Indonesian to receive the award. She also briefly took up study of human rights at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

. Marsudi returned to Jakarta and was appointed Director General for European and American Affairs. Marsudi was appointed as Indonesian Ambassador to the Netherlands in 2011 by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. She has also led various multilateral negotiations and bilateral consultations with the EU,

ASEM Asem (also spelled Aasem, Assem, Asim ar, عاصم ') is a male given name of Arabic origin, which means "savior, protector, guardian, defender." Asem is also a female given name of Kazakh origin, which means "beauty, beautiful, refined, gracefu ...

, and FEALAC.

Political career

On 27 October 2014, Marsudi was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs by President Joko Widodo in his Working Cabinet. In 2021, Marsudi was appointed co-chair – alongside Karina Gould and

Lia Tadesse Lia Tadesse Gebremedhin ( am, ሊያ ታደሰ ገብረመድኅን; born 1976) is an Ethiopian politician and physician serving as the current Minister of Health since March 2020. Prior to her appointment, Lia served as State Minister of Hea ...

– of the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) Engagement Group; the AMC is a financing instrument established to support the participation of 92 lower-middle and low-income economies in the COVAX Facility and ensure their access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Honours

*: Medal of Malalai (2020) *: Grand Cross of the

Order of the Sun of Peru Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

(2018)

References

External links