Suahasil's Track Record: From Economics Professor to Finance Minister

Suahasil Nazara has been officially sworn in as the new Finance Minister of the Republic of Indonesia, replacing Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Monday (14/9/2026).

Before becoming Finance Minister, Suahasil served as Deputy Finance Minister of the Republic of Indonesia in the Red and White Cabinet, having been appointed on 21 October 2024. He also served as Deputy Finance Minister during the era of Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

Suahasil has been closely associated with the field of fiscal policy and economics for more than two decades, both in academia and public policy.

Early in his career, Suahasil became a lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Indonesia in 1999, later earning the title of Professor in Economics in 2009. In academia, he served as Head of the Graduate Programme in Economics (2004-2005), Head of the Institute of Demography (2005-2008), and Chair of the Department of Economics (2009-2013).

Alongside this, Suahasil immersed himself in public policy through his roles as a member of the Finance Minister’s Assistance Team on Fiscal Decentralisation (2009-2011), Vice Chairman of the Committee for the Oversight of Regional Autonomy Implementation (2009-2015), Coordinator of the Policy Working Group at the Secretariat of the National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction (2010-2015), and a member of the National Economic Committee Council (2013-2014).

Suahasil’s career at the Ministry of Finance continued to rise when he was appointed as the definitive Head of the Fiscal Policy Agency on 31 October 2016. His role at the Ministry became increasingly significant when he served as Deputy Finance Minister in the Onward Indonesia Cabinet, supporting the Finance Minister in formulating and implementing national fiscal policy, from 25 October 2019.

According to data from the Finance Ministry, Suahasil earned a Bachelor of Economics degree from the University of Indonesia in 1994. He then continued his studies at Cornell University in the United States, obtaining a Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree in 1997.

He subsequently completed his doctoral programme at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, earning a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in economics in 2003, further strengthening his capacity in the fields of academia and economic policy.