Mari Elka Pangestu

Pangestu has had extensive policy-making experience in Indonesia. Following her period as Minister for Trade, in a cabinet reshuffle in October 2011 she was appointed to the newly created position of minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, a post she held until the term of the administration of president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono finished on 20 October 2014.

In December 2013, in recognition of her achievements as an economist and policy maker in Asia, Mari Pangestu was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Australian National University (ANU). While visiting Canberra to receive the degree she recalled her years as a student in Australia when her father was academic staff member at the ANU.

In late December 2012 the Indonesian Government nominated Mari Pangestu as a candidate for the position of Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to succeed the incumbent Director-General, Pascal Lamy, whose term ends in 2013. The General Council of the WTO considered nominations from various countries in early 2013. The selection process went through various rounds and in late April 2013 eliminated all three candidates from the Asia-Pacific region. Mari Pangestu issued a gracious statement accepting the outcome of the process.

In late 2012 Mari Pangestu expressed the hope that up to 10 million foreign tourists would visit Indonesia in 2014. She noted that there had been a falling away of tourists visiting Indonesia from Europe following the economic problems in 2011 and 2012 in the eurozone. However, she said that the government hoped that foreign tourist arrivals from countries in the Asia-Pacific region would hopefully offset the fall in tourists from Europe. She particularly pointed to the importance of the Chinese market where, she said, outbound tourists had climbed to 70 million in 2011.

After being given responsibility for creative economy matters in 2011, Mari Pangestu was energetic in promoting a wide range of activities in the sector. She urged regional governments to promote local creative activities and spoke of the importance of strengthening intellectual property rights so as to encourage young Indonesian artists and creative entrepreneurs to develop Indonesian products. In November 2012, with the support of the Panglaykim Foundation, she supported the visit of creative economy author John Howkins to Jakarta to discuss policies to promote creative economy activities.

Born in Jakarta, Mari Pangestu obtained her bachelor's and master's degrees from the Australian National University, and her Doctorate in economics from the University of California at Davis, United States, in 1986. Before being appointed as Minister of Trade in 2004 she was a leading staff member of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Jakarta and active over a long period in various trade forums such as PECC. She is regarded as one of the most well-known economic experts on trade issues in Indonesia. She has also served as an instructor in the Faculty of Economics in the University of Indonesia.

Mari Elka Pangestu (traditional Chinese: 馮慧蘭 ; simplified Chinese: 冯慧兰 ; pinyin: Féng Huìlán ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Phang Hoei Lan ; born 23 October 1956), formerly Minister of Trade in Indonesia from October 2004 to October 2011, will be a Managing Director in the World Bank as from 1 March 2020. The President of the World Bank, David Malpass, announced her appointment on 9 January saying that she would be responsible for development policy and partnerships in her role in the bank.