Nurmala Kartini Sjahrir

Since 2019 Kartini is an independent commissioner, board member of PT Siloam Intl Hospita Tbk. She also works as a Senior Advisor on Climate Change to the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and participated as one of Indonesian delegations to the Conference of the Parties (Twenty-fifth session) which was held in Madrid, 2–13 December 2019.

Kartini was among the distinguished speakers of UN Human Rights Council Session 23 – Panel in Geneva, June 3, 2013, delivering talk about supporting gender politics in harmony on the prevention of domestic violence. On 22 September 2016, Indonesia participated in the International Conference on Sustainable Development (IC-SD) at Columbia University in New York. Kartini chaired the Indonesia Panel, held at the Faculty House of Columbia University.

She received a master's and doctoral degree from the graduate school of Boston University, respectively in 1981 and 1990.

On December 8, 1979, Kartini was married to Dr Sjahrir, one of central figures behind Malari incident. As Kartini is a Christian and her husband was a Muslim, they performed their marriage in front of pendeta (Christian priest) as well as a penghulu (Muslim chieftain). They have two children, Pandu Patria Sjahrir dan Gita Rusminda Sjahrir.

She is an alumnus of famous Catholic boarding school (Indonesian: sekolah asrama) in Central Jakarta, St. Ursula Catholic School. In 1976 she was graduated from University of Indonesia in 1976. During her study, Kartini joined and became a member of Mapala UI (her name is listed as Kartini Panjaitan Syahrir), one of University of Indonesia's most popular student organization that focused on adventure, mountaineering, and expedition. In 1975, a year before she graduated, Kartini was chosen as the organization's chairwoman.

Nurmala Kartini Sjahrir (born as Kartini Boru Pandjaitan, February 1, 1950) is an Indonesian anthropologist and former diplomat who served as the Indonesian ambassador to Argentina, accredited to Paraguay and Uruguay from August 10, 2010 to 2014. She also served as the Indonesian representative to the Advisory Board of ASEAN-IPR as well as a former chairwoman of Asosiasi Antropologi Indonesia (Association of Indonesian Anthropology), abbreviated as AAI.

In 1950s, Panjaitan and Naiborhu moved to Pekanbaru, a capital of neighboring province of Riau because Panjaitan was given a job to work for PT. Caltex Pacific Indonesia now Chevron Corporation. They resided in Padang Bulan, Senapelan District. There Kartini was sent to study at the SMP 1 Pekanbaru, before admitted to St. Ursula Catholic School in Jakarta.