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View all search resultsNew BI leadership brings experience and stability
As Destry Damayanti makes history as the central bank's first female governor, a battle-tested leadership team is stepping up to anchor monetary stability and drive equitable growth through turbulent global markets.
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Acting Bank Indonesia governor Destry Damayanti waves on Aug. 26, 2026, prior to undergoing a fit and proper test with House of Representatives Commission XI at the Senayan Legislative Complex in Central Jakarta to confirm her appointment as the central bank’s new governor. (Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)
O
n Aug. 26, House of Representatives Commission XI overseeing finance and monetary affairs confirmed Destry Damayanti as the new governor of Bank Indonesia (BI) to succeed Perry Warjiyo, who had stepped down voluntarily.
The House also confirmed Aida Budiman as senior deputy governor and Umar Juaro as deputy governor, completing the central bank’s Board of Governors. All that remains before the new leadership takes the helm is their swearing-in before the Supreme Court. Once they are made official, Governor Destry and her team can fully focus on steering monetary policy in close coordination with fiscal authorities to ensure stable, equitable economic growth.
Several aspects of this transition deserve credit. President Prabowo Subianto ran a smooth selection process, putting forward single, highly qualified candidates from within BI: elevating Destry from senior deputy governor, promoting Aida to that post and appointing an insider, Solikin, as deputy governor. None faced significant pushback during vetting, which speaks to their competence.
While market reactions can be unpredictable, fundamentals and common sense suggest investors will trust the professionalism of this lineup. They will undoubtedly confront shifting economic challenges, but their deep institutional experience, coupled with tight coordination with the Finance Ministry, should keep the macroeconomy on steady ground.
During her presentation before Commission XI, Destry laid out her core vision for leading BI: Sinergi Merah Putih (Red and White Synergy) for the welfare of the Indonesian people. Under this vision, she aims to build a more adaptive, forward-thinking central bank that reliably supports macroeconomic stability, economic growth and long-term sustainability.
Destry also highlighted that Indonesia continued to navigate a turbulent global backdrop marked by geopolitical risks, cooling economic growth, financial market volatility, persistent inflationary pressures, shifting capital flows and the emerging challenges of rapid digitalization.
To tackle these headwinds, she outlined strategic priorities for her leadership, such as fine-tuning monetary, macroprudential and payment system tools to defend the rupiah's stability while continuing to back national economic growth, optimizing data governance and effectively managing foreign exchange flows to protect domestic resilience and working closely with the government and key stakeholders to drive forward a stronger, higher-income Indonesia.
