Susilo appoints 19 new ambassadors

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono installed 19 new Indonesian ambassadors to various countries on Friday, including the U.S., Britain and China.

For the prestigious post in Washington, Susilo appointed Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat, the number 2 in the foreign ministry, to replace Soemadi DM Brotodiningrat.

R.M. Marty M. Natalegawa, a young and charismatic diplomat who is presently working as the foreign ministry's chief spokesman as well as the director general for ASEAN Cooperation, will fill the vacant ambassadorial post in London. The post has been vacant since October 2004 when Susilo appointed ambassador Juwono Sudarsono as minister of defense.

Despite the suggestion from the House of Representatives that more people from outside the foreign ministry should be appointed as ambassadors, the career diplomats got the biggest share of the postings on Friday.

Only three outsiders -- Maj. Gen. (ret) Sudradjat, a former director general of defense strategy at the Ministry of Defense, Salim Segaf Al-Jufrie, an executive of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), and a lawmaker from the Democratic Party, Irzan Tandjung -- were appointed as ambassadors. Sudradjat will lead the Indonesian mission in China, Salim the one in Saudi Arabia and Irzan the one in the Philippines.

The House members, who held selection hearings on the government's nominations, had earlier questioned what it said was the disproportionate number of foreign ministry officials appointed compared to figures from outside the ministry.

Of the 19 newly inaugurated ambassadors, two were women career diplomats, Retno Marsudi, who is currently director for West European Affairs at the foreign ministry, and Lucia Helwinda Rustam, the ministry's secretary to the directorate general of multilateral, political, social and security affairs. Retno was posted to Norway while Lucia to Switzerland.

The Acehnese Teuku Mohammad Hamzah Thayeb, who currently heads the ministry's directorate for East Asia and the Pacific, was named as the country's ambassador to Australia to replace Imron Cotan. Imron held the post since November, 2003.

The ministry's director general for American and European Affairs, Arizal Effendi, was installed as the new envoy to France.

Herrijanto Soeprapto, who is currently the director general for Asian and African affairs, was posted to Brunei Darussalam, while Djoko Hardono, director general for protocol and consular affairs, was posted to Canada.

Triyono Wibowo, the ministry's head of the personnel bureau, will head the Indonesian mission in Austria.

Slamet Santoso Mustafa, who is currently the ministry's inspector general, was named as ambassador to Spain.

F.X. Bambang Guritno was named as ambassador to Fiji, while Sutjiptohardjo Donokusumo -- a career diplomat -- was appointed ambassador to Laos, and Gde Djelantik to Peru.

Soegeng Rahardjo, director for dialog partners and interregional cooperation, was appointed as ambassador to South Africa, Deddy Sudarman to Ethiopia, and Sjachwien Adenan to Marocco.