The Leaderboard: Enggartiasto Lukita

Who is he?

Enggartiasto Lukita has served as a lawmaker with the Nasdem Party in Indonesia’s House of Representatives since 2014. Before joining the newly-established Nasdem in 2013, Lukita was a long-time member of the Golkar Party, serving two terms as a Golkar lawmaker from 1997-99 and 2004-09. He also held the position of party deputy treasurer from 1998 to 2004. Outside of government service, Lukita has worked in a number of real estate companies, including PT Supradinakarya Multijaya Group, PT Citrasari Into, PT Kartika Karisma Indah, and PT Kemang Pratama. Lukita holds a bachelor’s degree in English education from the Bandung Teacher Training Institute.

Why is he in the news?

President Joko Widodo on July 27 announced the appointment of Lukita as trade minister in his latest cabinet reshuffle. Lukita replaces outgoing trade minister Thomas Trikasih Lembong, who was moved to chairman of the Investment Coordinating Board. This marks the first time since 1999 that a serving member of Parliament has been appointed trade minister.

What can we expect from him?

Worries that Lukita would push for traditionally protectionist trade policies were somewhat assuaged when he on August 2 met with Australia’s trade minister Steven Ciobo and the pair reaffirmed a commitment by the two countries to sign a free trade agreement by the end of 2017. Although Lukita’s stance on international trade, specifically the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), is not yet clear, his background as head of foreign relations for NasDem should provide a solid understanding of international trade issues.

Lukita on July 28 announced his priority will be to stabilize the price of food and other essential commodities, based on directives from the president. It is expected that he will coordinate closely with other ministries to address this matter.

Thumbnail image: Indonesia’s Tanjung Priok port. Source: World Bank Photo Collection’s flickr photostream, used under a creative commons license.    

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