Dubai: Known as a “tough reformist”, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia, was announced as the ‘Best Minister in the World’ during the sixth World Government Summit on Sunday.
Indrawati was recognised for her efforts in fighting corruption and increasing transparency in the government with the help of her team at the Ministry of Finance in Indonesia.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai presented Indrawati with the award.
Under Indrawati’s mandate, Indonesia achieved tangible results in reducing poverty, improving the standard of living, reducing public debt and boosting transparency on public transactions.
Indrawati, who has served as the Minister of Finance since 2016 and was ranked as the 38th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine, was selected among eight ministers who were shortlisted during the final round of the award.
Now in its third edition, the prestigious award organised in partnership with Ernest & Young (EY) recognises the exceptional efforts of government ministers at demonstrating excellence in the public sector, implementing successful reforms and inspiring other government leaders and service providers to promote innovation within their domain, to better serve the needs of their citizens.
A jury of international experts and key figure representatives of international organisations chose the winner based on a set of criteria that included social and economic impact, scalability, innovation and leadership.
Largely credited with strengthening Indonesia’s economy, Indrawati efforts has managed to increase investments and steer Southeast Asia’s largest economy through the 2007—2010 financial crisis.
She had previously served in the same post as the Minister of Finance from 2005 to 2010 after which she resigned and served as the managing director of the World Bank Group.
The public were also included nominating the best minister through social media. To ensure transparency, ministers from the UAE are not considered for the award.
Impeccable record
served as Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia since 2016, holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Illinois. Before holding the same role from 2005-2010, she served as Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer at the World Bank, where she was responsible for worldwide operations. In 2005, one of her first acts as Minister, was to fire corrupt tax and custom officers in the department. Just one year later, she was named Euromoney Finance Minister of the Year by Euromoney magazine. Indrawati was then appointed as Managing Director of the World Bank Group in 2010, and resigned as Minister of Finance, before being reappointed in 2016.
