Banker Agus Martowardojo is Indonesia's new Finance Minister

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has named the CEO of Bank Mandiri, Agus Martowardojo, as the new Finance Minister. The president also appointed Anny Ratnawati, whose name had previously been mentioned as the strongest candidate, to the post of Deputy Finance Minister.

Ratnawati was the Finance Ministry's Budget Director and a presidential speech writer. She was also President Yudhoyono's lecturer at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture.

President Yudhoyono announced his decision on Wednesday evening after consulting his closest advisors, among them Vice President Budiono who is well known as an economist. According to the president, the two personalities he appointed are capable of continuing the financial reform introduced by their predecessor, Sri Mulyani.

"Both have great capacity and integrity, and have also accumulated great experience and knowledge during their careers both in and out of the country."

Head of Indonesia's largest bank

Agus Martowardojo was clearly delighted to be appointed Finance Minister after a career in the private sector.

Martowardojo is a savvy banker who has been CEO of Bank Mandiri, the largest bank in Indonesia, since 2005. Amsterdam-born, he graduated from the School of Economics at the University of Indonesia and started his banking career as an international loans officer at the Bank of America's Jakarta branch.

He was the vice president of Bank Niaga for eight years before moving to Bank Bumiputera as CEO in 1995. Three years later, he was appointed CEO of the state-owned Bank Ekspor Impor Indonesia.

A twist in his career came in 2009 when Martowardojo was rejected by the House of Representatives as the Governor of the Central Bank. But this time, the parliamentarians backed his appointment.

Markets welcome appointment

The markets welcomed the decision after the weeks of uncertainty. Market analyst David Sumual views both appointments as a perfect combination.

"As a banker, Agus Martowardojo is well-known to the market players, especially because of his success in reforming Bank Mandiri. He's known as a reformist, and a good one that is."

Sumual is certain Martowardojo will be able to continue the reform movement pioneered by predecessor Sri Mulyani. Furthermore he admires the new Finance Minister as a man with vast knowledge on the market and banking.

Sri Mulyani resigned to become number two at the World Bank. She will start her new job as Managing Director on June 1. Her farewell at the Finance Ministry on Thursday was very emotional with many employees crying and calling on her to return to the country in 2014 to run for president.

Author: Zaki Amrullah (Jakarta)/cp

Editor: Grahame Lucas