Ali Wardhana
Ali Wardhana | |
---|---|
Minister of Finance of Indonesia | |
In office 6 June 1968 – 19 March 1983 | |
President | Suharto |
Preceded by | Frans Seda |
Succeeded by | Radius Prawiro |
Personal details | |
Born | Surakarta, Central Java, Dutch East Indies | 6 May 1928
Died | 14 September 2015 Jakarta, Indonesia | (aged 87)
Resting place | Tanah Kusir Cemetery |
Citizenship | Indonesian |
Political party | Golkar |
Spouse | Rendasih |
Children | 4 |
Parent |
|
Relatives | Ali Sastroamidjojo (uncle)[1] |
Alma mater | University of Indonesia University of California, Berkeley |
Occupation | |
He was born on 6 May 1928, in the city of
In 1983, he was transferred to the position of
Early life and education
Ali Wardhana was born on 6 May 1928,[7] in the city of Surakarta, more commonly known as Solo. His mother died when he was almost five years old. His father, Aliman, would remarry to a woman named Bulik, Ali's aunt.[8] Ali's childhood was mainly spent in Surakarta. Ali moved around several times. Around this time, he reportedly resided in the house of his uncle, Ali Sastroamidjojo, an Indonesian nationalist and statesman, who would go on to become Prime Minister of Indonesia. His childhood home has now become a shop.[1]
Growing up, Ali did not receive a formal education. Instead, he was
During his time at UI, he was taught by foreign lecturers from the Netherlands about economics, as the only native economist with an economics doctorate, was Sumitro Djojohadikusumo. However, as tensions grew between Indonesia and the Dutch Government over the West New Guinea dispute, Dutch lecturers began to leave the country. Resulting in UI turning to the Ford Foundation for assistance. The Ford Foundation then began a process where students from UI were chosen to undertake overseas studies at the University of California, Berkeley.[9] After finishing his studies at UI in 1958, and having a short stint as a lecturer at UI, where he was known to be an expert in the fields of macroeconomics and monetary policy, and was able to explain the material briefly and clearly, he was then sent abroad to continue his studies at the University of California, Berkeley.[10][11]
Ali continued his master's education at the
Finance minister
Appointment
He returned to Indonesia in 1967 and was appointed as the Dean of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Indonesia, replacing
In an English-language book entitled "A Tribute to Ali Wardhana, Indonesia's Longest Serving Finance Minister: From His Writing and His Colleagues" published by Kompas, which was released to commemorate Ali Wardhana's 87th Anniversary, there is one story when President Suharto summoned Ali and asked him to become finance minister.
"When Suharto's first cabinet was formed, Pak Harto called me to become Minister of Finance. I immediately came to see him and said that I couldn't become Minister of Finance. Pak Harto looked at me and said "You think I want to be president? I've never been president. You have never been the Minister of Finance. So don't worry, we learn together," said Ali.[14]
Tenure
Early on after his appointment, he was tasked with tackling the high inflation rate, which reportedly caused stress and caused him to not sleep well. At the time, inflation had reached a high of 650% in 1966. He was successful at tackling high inflation, with inflation falling from 650% in 1966, to 112% in 1967, to 85% in 1968, to 10% in 1969 under his tenure.[12]
As finance minister, he began a crusade against illegal levies and extortion, together with Minister of State Control of State Apparatus (currently Ministry of State Apparatus Utilization and Bureaucratic Reform) J.B. Sumarli. At the time illegal levies occurred in State Treasurer's Office. J.B. Sumarlin even disguised himself as a staff a work unit named Ahmad Sidik to discover the practice of extortion. After that incident, nobody else dared to collect illegal levies.[12]
Death and legacy
Ali died at Medistra Hospital, Jakarta on September 14, 2015, at 15:30 WIB. Before he died, Ali was treated for three weeks.[12][15]
Work with government
A brief summary of Ali Wardhana's career is as follows:[16][17]
- 1966: Member of the team of economics experts advising the acting president of Indonesia.
- 1968: Minister of Finance in the First Development Cabinet.
- 1969: Chair, Monetary Council.
- 1973: Minister of Finance in the Second Development Cabinet.
- 1975: Deputy Chair, Board of Governors of the Islamic Development Bank.
- 1978: Minister of Finance in the Third Development Cabinet.
- 1983: Coordinating Minister of Economics, Finance, Industry and Development Supervision in the Fourth Development Cabinet.
- 1988: retired as a senior government minister and remained active as a senior economist in numerous positions.
Honours
National Honours
- Indonesia:
- Star of Mahaputera, 2nd Class (4 April 1973)[18]
- Satyalancana Dwidya Sistha[18]
Foreign Honours
- Belgium:
- Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II (15 January 1970)[18]
- Netherlands:
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau (25 August 1971)[18]
Personal life
Ali Wardhana married a woman named Rendasih (d. 2000), nicknamed Renny, who was a school teacher from Bandung. Together they had four children, Isyana Ika Wardhana, Mahendra Wardhana, Pradjnawita Wardhana, and Pradjanamita Wardhana.[12]
Writings
- Monetary Budget: A Tool for Stabilization or Inflation
- Economic and Social Institutions (1966)
- Economic Development and the Availability of Special Funds
- Statement at the Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (1969)
- Concessional Loans and Technical Assistance
- Statement at the Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (1970).[19]
Further reading
- ISBN 978-979-70993-5-0
- Marzuki Usman, 2017. Prof. Dr. Ali Wardhana: Pembaharu Kebijakan Moneter dan Fiskal di Indonesia [Prof. Dr Ali Wardhana: Reformer of Monetary and Fiscal Policy in Indonesia], PP ISEI, Jakarta. ISBN 978-602-14722-2-4
Notes
References
- ^ a b c Media Keuangan 2019, p. 37.
- ^ Media Keuangan 2019, pp. 42.
- ISSN 0007-4918.
- ^ Farid, Muhammad (2015). "Ali Wardhana: The Legacy of Indonesia's Economic Legend". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 20 October 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ "Prof. Dr. Ali Wardhana Terima Penghargaan Wirakarya Adhitama". Universitas Indonesia (in Indonesian). 10 June 2014.
- ^ Media Keuangan 2019, p. 41.
- ^ Pribadi, Galih Setyo (2015). "Profil – Ali Wardhana" [Profile – Ali Wardhana]. www.merdeka.com (Website) (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ a b Media Keuangan 2019, p. 36.
- ^ a b Ford Foundation (2007). "An Evening with the Technocrats". Ford Foundation (Website). Archived from the original on 25 January 2007. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ a b c Media Keuangan 2019, p. 38.
- ^ a b Media Keuangan 2019, p. 18.
- ^ ISSN 1907-6320.
- ^ "Arti Kata Ingusan Adalah – Sedang Populer". Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ^ Muslimah, Salmah. "Kisah Ali Wardhana, Pernah Menolak Jadi Menkeu dan Religius di Usia Senja". detiknews (in Indonesian). Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ^ Rastika, Icha (14 September 2015). Ali, Fidel (ed.). "JK Dijadwalkan Melayat Almarhum Ali Wardhana Pagi Ini". KOMPAS.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- OCLC 559071932.
- OCLC 719409850.
- ^ a b c d "Ali Wardhana, architect of New Order economy, laid to rest". The Jakarta Post. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
- ^ "Ali Wardhana". tirto.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 19 September 2021.