Jakarta. Indonesia officially has ex-minister and non-affiliated politician Indroyono Soesilo as its envoy to the United States, finally ending a years-long wait.

Indroyono, alongside seven other ambassadors, took their oath on Monday in a ceremony led by President Prabowo Subianto at Jakarta’s State Palace.

Calls have been mounting for Prabowo to appoint an ambassador to the US, especially after Washington unveiled a punitive tariff campaign in April. Despite the substantial bilateral trade volumes, Indonesia has not had an ambassador at the economic superpower vacant since July 2023. The last person to assume the role was Rosan Roeslani, now the investment minister. The three past US envoys -- Rosan, Muhammad Lutfi, and Mahendra Siregar -- also had short-lived ambassadorial tenures.

Indroyono was the chief maritime affairs minister to Former President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo between October 2014 and August 2015. The 70-year-old is also not a member of any political party.

Prabowo also entrusted key international organizations to career diplomats. 

Sidharto Reza Suryodipuro, a senior official at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, will soon fly to Geneva as Indonesia’s permanent mission there. He will represent Southeast Asia’s largest economy at the Geneva-based United Nations Office and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Umar Hadi, the director for American and European Affairs, is now the permanent mission to the UN Office in New York.

Senior diplomat Abdul Kadir Jailani became Prabowo's envoy to Germany, not long after the president was invited for an official visit to Berlin.

Judha Nugaraha, who has been dealing with Indonesian citizens abroad, is Prabowo’s pick for the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Both countries have been getting closer during Jokowi’s term, as reflected by the launch of the free trade agreement and the Emirati-backed floating solar plant in West Java, the first of its kind in Southeast Asia.

“I swear to God that I, as the ambassador, will remain loyal to the 1945 Constitution and strongly carry out other rules for the sake of this nation and country,” all freshly appointed envoys said in unison as they took their oath.

An ambassadorship usually lasts between three and four years. 

The full list of the new Indonesian ambassadors is as follows:

• Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala: Toferry Primanda Soetikno

• US: Indroyono Soesilo

• Brazil: Andhika Chrisnayudhanto

• Germany: Abdul Kadir Jailani

• UAE: Judha Nugraha

• Ecuador: Imam As’Ari

• Permanent Mission to the UN (New York): Umar Hadi

• Permanent Mission to UN, WTO, and other international organizations in Geneva: Sidharto Reza Suryodipuro

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