Soemadi nominated as RI ambassador to U.S.
Soemadi nominated as RI ambassador to U.S.
Kurniawan Hari and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta
Indonesia confirmed on Friday that Soemadi Brotodiningrat, the
incumbent ambassador to Japan, was the sole candidate for the
position of Indonesian ambassador to the United States.
State/Cabinet Secretary Bambang Kesowo, when asked whether
Soemadi's name had been proposed to the House of Representatives,
replied: "Yes, we have submitted the name to the House. We just
have to wait for the House to process it."
House secretary-general Sri Sumarjati said that she had
received two letters from the State Secretariat on the nomination
of ambassadors for Washington and Riyadh.
"I forget the exact date, but I think I received the letters
last week. The letters will be brought for deliberation to a
plenary meeting on Tuesday," Sumarjati said.
Based on the amended 1945 Constitution, the president should
first consult the House on the appointment of ambassadors and
envoys.
The names of candidates are then submitted to House Commission
I on defense and foreign affairs for further assessment.
Sumarjati confirmed the letters concerned the nomination of
Soemadi for the Washington post and Maftuh Basyuni, incumbent
ambassador to Kuwait, to fill in the vacant ambassadorial post in
Riyadh.
Soemadi, born in Surakarta, Central Java, on June 13, 1941,
was a senior diplomat at the foreign ministry and has a long
record of serving as Indonesian envoy in various countries since
1965.
Before assuming his current post in Japan on Oct. 20, 1998, he
was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' director general for foreign
economic relations.
Prior to that, he was the chief representative to the United
Nations in Geneva and a top official of the Indonesian permanent
mission to the UN in New York.
The ambassadorial post in Washington has been vacant since
Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti was appointed coordinating minister for
the economy in President Megawati Soekarnoputri's Cabinet in
August.
The announcement of the nominee for Indonesian envoy to
Washington was not made public until Friday because Jakarta had
been waiting for the appointment of new U.S. ambassador to
Indonesia, Ralph Leo Boyce, who submitted his credentials on Oct.
24.
The post in Riyadh was left vacant following the appointment
of Baharuddin Lopa as justice minister in February during the
tenure of former president Abdurrahman Wahid.
No information is available on who will replace Soemadi and
Maftuh in Tokyo and Kuwait City respectively.
Soemadi Brotodiningrat's previous postings
1988-present: Ambassador to Japan,
1995-1998: Director general for foreign economic relations,
1991-1995: Permanent representatives to the UN in Geneva,
1988-1991: Director for multilateral economic relations,
1978-1992: First secretary to the UN in New York