| Mari Pangestu 馮慧蘭 |
|
|---|---|
| Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office October 2011 |
|
| President | Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono |
| Preceded by | Jero Wacik |
| Minister for Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises of Indonesia ad-interim |
|
| In office October 1 2008 – October 22 2009 |
|
| President | Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 23, 1956 Jakarta, Indonesia |
| Nationality | Indonesia |
| Spouse(s) | Adi Harsono |
| Children | Raymond Arya |
| Alma mater | Australian National University University of California, Davis |
| Religion | Catholic |
Mari Elka Pangestu (traditional Chinese: 馮慧蘭; simplified Chinese: 冯慧兰; pinyin: Féng Huìlán; born October 23, 1956) was the Minister of Trade of Indonesia from October 2004 to October 2011. In a cabinet reshuffle in October 2011 she was appointed to the newly-created position of minister of Tourism and Creative Economy.[1] She is the first female Chinese Indonesian to hold a cabinet position in Indonesia. Since her appointment to the new cabinet position, she has spent time explaining the approach of the government towards fostering creative sectors of the economy in a number of statements[2]
Born in Jakarta, Pangestu obtained her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the Australian National University, and her Doctorate in economics from the University of California at Davis, United States, in 1986. Before being appointed as Minister of Trade in 2004 she was a leading staff member of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Jakarta and active over a long period in various trade forums such as PECC. She is regarded as one of the most well-known economic experts on trade issues in Indonesia. She has also served as an instructor in the Faculty of Economics in the University of Indonesia.
Mari Pangestu is widely respected both in Indonesia and overseas. She is known as a very effective public speaker and minister. As Minister for Trade she was sometimes criticised by domestic industry groups for supporting trade-promotion measures rather then looking to increase protection for domestic producers.[3] Her response to these criticisms was to note that Indonesian needed to adhere to international commitments to promote trade-oriented policies and that freer trade brought many benefits to domestic consumers and producers in Indonesia.[4] As an economist, she is widely published in the Indonesian and international media. She serves on the Board of External Editors of the Asian Journal of Business (University of Michigan) and Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies (produced by the Indonesia project at the Australian National University). She is also the co-coordinator of the Task Force on Poverty and Development for the United Nations Millennium Project.
Mari Pangestu is married to Adi Harsono and has two children, Raymond and Arya.