UN OVERSIGHT OFFICE -- INDONESIAN CANDIDATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001915

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP
PASS TO IO/MPR-MATT GLOCKNER, IO/MPR- BRIAN HACKETT,
USUN/MR-- BRUCE RASHKOW, USUSN/MR- CHERITH NORMAN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV KUNR ID UN
SUBJECT: UN OVERSIGHT OFFICE -- INDONESIAN CANDIDATE

REF: SECSTATE 117720

Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: The Indonesian candidate for the UN Office
of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS),Dr. Anwar Nasution, is
an excellent candidate for OIOS Under Secretary-General.
Well-regarded in Indonesia and by foreign observers, he is
well known for his reform efforts during his tenure as Chair
of Indonesia's State Audit Board and service with Indonesia's
Central Bank. Dr. Nasution was educated in the U.S. and is a
close contact of this Mission. Bio information is contained
in para 5. END SUMMARY.

CANDIDATE FOR OVERSIGHT OFFICE


2. (C) Dr. Nasution is an excellent candidate to head the
UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services. He has a
sterling reputation as a reformist interested in promoting
good governance. He is close to President Yudhoyono and
senior administration officials, and is considered by civil
society to be fair and impartial. The host government is
likely to support Dr. Nasution as OIOS head. He has
considerable professional oversight expertise, having served
as Senior Deputy Governor of Indonesia's Central Bank and as
Chair of the State Audit Board (BPK).


3. (C) Mission knows of no disqualifying information
regarding Dr. Nasution. He was named as a witness but not a
suspect in a February 2008 corruption case involving the
alleged bribery of an official. In a country where high
level officials are sometimes implicated in corruption
scandals, Dr. Nasution stands out for his unsullied image.

THE RECORD OF A REFORMER


4. (C) Dr. Nasution helped make Indonesia's Supreme Audit
Commission (BPK) one of the most accountable and transparent
institutions in Indonesia. During his tenure there, he
exhibited exceptional leadership. Under his guidance, the
BPK became an autonomous institution able to broaden its
public finance audits. He also increased transparency by
making BPK reports available to the public on its website and
by directly reporting suspected fraud to law enforcement
agencies. Nasution also supported autonomous management of
Papua and West Papua provinces' financial affairs by
tailoring capacity-building programs for them. This helped
boost Papua's confidence in its sometimes difficult
relationship with Jakarta. Nasution cooperated closely with
the Mission, and was instrumental in supporting a new USAID
program designed to promote accountability in the State Audit
Board and elsewhere.

BIO INFORMATION


5. (U) Please find attached a bio-sketch of Dr. Nasution
(Mission will provide his C.V. shortly):

Begin text:

Dr. Anwar Nasution retired as Chairman of the State Audit
Board (BPK) on October 19, 2009. Prior to assuming the
position in 2004, Nasution was Senior Deputy Governor of the
Indonesian Central Bank from 1999-2004.

Anwar Nasution was Dean and Professor at Economics Department
of the University of Indonesia from February 1998 to 2001.
He was also Consultant at the University's Center for Policy
and Implementation Studies. He was Chairman of the National
Committee for Indonesia's Financial Development and the
Pacific Economic Cooperation Council in 1995. From March
1998 to 2000, he was also Deputy Chair of International
Relations of the Indonesia Economists Association. In June
1999, he was appointed acting chief of the Bank Indonesia
after its governor was declared a suspect in the Bank Bali
scandal. He resigned as acting chief on November 15th, 2000,
when nominated as one of four governors of the Central Bank.

Between 1984 and 1995, Nasution was Economic Advisor to the
Minister for Cooperatives of Indonesia. In 1987, he attended
the Twentieth Regular Course at the Lemhannas - the
Indonesian National Resilience Institute - in Jakarta. He was
also a consultant to USAID Indonesia projects from 1990 to

1991.


JAKARTA 00001915 002 OF 002


n*wa Nasution was born on August 5, 1942. In 1968, he
graduated from the Faculty of Economics, Universty of
Indonesia. He went on to get his Masters n Public
Administration from the Kennedy School f Government, Harvard
University in 1973. Anwar btained a Ph.D in Economics from
Tufts Universit, Massachusetts, in 1982. He specializes in
thefields of Applied Macroeconomic Theory, MonetaryEconomics and International
Economics.

End text

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