Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto on Wednesday appointed Deputy Agriculture Minister Sudaryono as head of Indonesia's National Nutrition Agency (BGN), marking the agency's second leadership change in less than two months as it seeks to recover from a high-profile corruption scandal.

Sudaryono replaces Nanik Deyang, who unexpectedly announced her resignation on social media after serving just 45 days as agency chief, citing health reasons.

State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said Sudaryono would be sworn in later on Wednesday to ensure the agency's work continues without interruption, particularly the implementation of the government's flagship Free Nutritious Meals program, which is expected to serve tens of millions of beneficiaries.

"The president has decided to appoint Mr. Sudaryono, currently deputy agriculture minister, as the new head of the National Nutrition Agency. He is scheduled to be inaugurated this afternoon so that the agency's duties can continue without interruption," Prasetyo told reporters.

He acknowledged that the leadership change was "not the situation the government had hoped for," saying it had been difficult to find a suitable replacement at a time when the agency is undergoing extensive institutional reforms.

"This is not the situation we expected, and finding the right person to replace the previous leadership has not been easy," Prasetyo said.

He added that Prabowo had already instructed a comprehensive overhaul of the agency to strengthen governance while ensuring the Free Nutritious Meals program continues to operate effectively despite the leadership transition.

The latest appointment follows sweeping changes at the agency in early June, when Prabowo abruptly dismissed then-chief Dadan Hindayana and his two deputies, Lodewyk Pusung and Sony Sanjaya. A day later, all three were named corruption suspects by the Attorney General's Office.

Nanik, who had served as one of the agency's deputy chiefs, was not removed at the time and was instead promoted to lead the agency, despite public scrutiny over the corruption scandal. She also serves as a commissioner at state-owned energy company Pertamina.

Close Presidential Ally
Sudaryono is considered a close ally of Prabowo and has held several senior positions within the president's Gerindra Party.

He served as the party's deputy secretary-general in 2020 before being appointed by Prabowo to lead Gerindra's Central Java chapter.

Before entering government, Sudaryono built a career in the private sector, serving as corporate secretary at Nusantara Energy in 2014. He later became chief executive of Garuda TV in 2018 and has led Nusantara Telematics System as chief executive since 2019.

He has also served as chief executive of PT Indonesian Defense and Security Technologies while holding several other strategic corporate positions.

Sudaryono entered government in 2024 when then-President Joko Widodo appointed him deputy agriculture minister, just three months before Prabowo took office as president.