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| Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo walks after Friday prayers at the Presidential palace in Jakarta, October 24, 2014. Photo Credit REUTERS/Beawiharta |
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s new president on Sunday appointed professional technocrats to lead the top economic ministries and implement much-needed reforms to deal with costly fuel subsidies, cooling investment and the country’s creaky infrastructure.
Joko Widodo unveiled a cabinet of 34 ministers that was filled with political appointees and last-minute replacements, reflecting the many compromises necessary to maintain a fragile coalition and have a team seen as free of graft.
Widodo, who took office last Monday, appointed former state-owned enterprises minister Sofyan Djalil as coordinating minister for economics and promoted vice finance minister Bambang Brodjonegoro to head the finance ministry.
The president named the chief executive of state-owned defense firm PT Pindad, Sudirman Said, as energy and mineral resources minister, and a former head of auto-assembler PT Astra International Rini Soemarno Soewandi as state-owned enterprises minister.
Retno Marsudi, the current ambassador to the Netherlands, will take over as foreign minister.
Widodo’s cabinet picks will be sworn-in on Monday.
(Reporting by Gayatri Suroyo and the Jakarta bureau; Writing by Randy Fabi; Editing by Richard Borsuk)
