Jokowi appoints new Cabinet
October 26, 2014The Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, appointed a 34-member Cabinet on Sunday, which included political allies and technocrats in key economic roles.
Former ministry employee and respected economics academic Bambang Brodjonegoro was named finance minister. Sofyan Djalil, the former minister for state-owned enterprises, was appointed the coordinating minister for economics. Retno Marsudi was to assume her position as the country's first female foreign minister.
Widodo's Cabinet also included important political allies such as Puan Maharani, who is the daughter of former president Megawati Sukarnoputri. Maharani was named the head of one of the four powerful "coordinating ministries" which oversee several other ministries, while her confidante, Rini Soemarno, was appointed minister of state-owned enterprises.
Another close ally of Maharani, Ryamizard Ryacudu, was appointed Indonesia's defense minister.
Cleaning the government
Fifty-three-year-old Widodo, a former furniture exporter, pledged to weed out corrupt practices and usher in a clean government. "We wanted the chosen people to be clean so we consulted the KPK (anti-corruption commission)," Widodo said, while announcing the Cabinet.
Widodo had earlier taken the unusual step of asking the country's anti-corruption commission to approve the candidates - a process which led to several potential ministers getting rejected at the last minute.
The new president faces stiff opposition in parliament and expects his key ministers to help push through reforms that are needed to boost the country's economy and eradicate poverty.
mg/nm (AFP, AP)