Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Indonesia)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Kementerian Luar Negeri Republik Indonesia) or commonly known by its abbreviation Kemlu, is an Indonesian government ministry responsible for the country's foreign politics and diplomacy. The ministry was formerly known as the Department of Foreign Affairs (Indonesian: Departemen Luar Negeri Republik Indonesia, abbreviated as Deplu) until 2008 when the nomenclature changed with the enactment of the 2008 State Ministry Act (Undang-Undang Nomor 39 Tahun 2008 tentang Kementerian Negara).
Ministry of Foreign Affairs is one of three ministries, along with Ministry of Defense and Ministry Home Affairs, that is explicitly mentioned in the Constitution of Indonesia, hence the president has no authority to dissolve the ministry.
According to Article 8 of the Constitution, in case that both the president and the vice president can no longer serve at the same time, the line of succession temporarily falls to a troika of minister of foreign affairs, minister of home affairs, and minister of defense who would govern concurrently until the succeeding President and Vice President are elected by the People's Consultative Assembly within thirty days of the posts' vacancy.
Since October 2024, Sugiono has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, succeeding Retno Marsudi. He is the first non-career diplomat to serve as foreign minister since Alwi Shihab's tenure (1999-2001).
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was founded in 1945 following the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence from the Netherlands. The headquarters was initially located in the garage of the country's first Minister of Foreign Affairs, Achmad Soebardjo, at Jl. Cikini 80–82 in Jakarta. The Ministry started with just six employees, including Hadi Thayeb.
During the first five years of the Ministry's existence, the supreme task was to gain overseas recognition and international sympathy of Indonesian struggle for independence, all while during ongoing armed conflict with the Dutch colonial forces. The young government managed to held peace talks and conferences with several parties, such as at Linggadjati (1946) or onboard USS Renville (1948). It actively supported high-level meeting such as the Round Table Conference (1949), where Indonesian independence was finally acknowledged by the Netherlands.
During this period, Indonesian diplomatic corps further pursued international recognition for Indonesia. It successfully managed to apply for Indonesian membership in the United Nations (1950), hosted a high-level conference of Asian and African countries in Bandung (1955), conclude an important nationality agreement with People's Republic of China (1955), and abandoned Dutch-Indonesian Union in 1956. Despite some successes in other subjects, the New Guinea Question as the most important diplomacy goal remained unresolved throughout this period.
Sukarno's disappointment with what he perceived as weakness of western-style parliamentary democracy, led him to restore Indonesia's 1945 presidential constitution. Along with it was a shift in Indonesian foreign policy, where Indonesia pursued a closer relations with the Soviet Union, People's Republic of China, and the Eastern Bloc in general; Although Indonesia would also participate in the foundation of the Non-Aligned Movement in Belgrade (1961). It also demanded a resolution on Dutch continued presence and occupation in the Western New Guinea, where Indonesia would consider a military approach in order to assert Indonesian rights over the territory. Dutch presence on the island would end following the New York Agreement (1962), where the Dutch New Guinea administration will transfer from the Netherlands to the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA), then to Indonesia.
Following the formation of Malaya, Singapore, Sabah, and North Borneo (Sabah) into the Federation of Malaysia (1963), Indonesia entered into a period of low-level confrontation with Malaysia, citing British imperialism in the region. Also during this period, Indonesia would suspend its membership in the United Nations, the only country to do so. The Konfrontasi would last until 1966, when the Sukarno administration was replaced, with Suharto became head of government, later President.
Under Suharto, many of foreign policy overtures under Sukarno was revamped. The "Free-and-Active" foreign policy was reconfirmed, although at the cost of relations with many communist countries; no formal diplomatic relations between Indonesia and the PRC existed until 1990.
Suharto's militarist administration would held a referendum in West New Guinea to fulfill a requirement regarding the transfer of administration. Although the Act of Free Choice (1969) was highly suspected to be held under threat of violence by the Indonesian military, the result was unanimous in support of Indonesian integration, and was accepted and adopted by the UN General Assembly in November 1969.
Another one of this period's diplomatic activities is the formation of ASEAN in 1967, following the conclusion of Bangkok Declaration by the delegates of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines. Indonesian government would also continue active participation in the Non-Aligned Movement and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, becoming its chairman for multiple times.
In 1975, Indonesia would invade and occupy East Timor until 1999. Throughout the New Order period, Indonesian foreign policy would promote and gain international recognition for the eventual annexation of East Timor.
Indonesia would also actively promote compliance of existing international law of the sea as prescribed under the UNCLOS, where Indonesia heavily contributed in the newly created 'archipelagic states' concept.
Present-day Indonesian foreign policy was the reconfirmation of 'Free-and-Active' foreign policy (Politik Luar Negeri Bebas Aktif).
Habibie Administration allowed a referendum to be conducted in East Timor, whether they prefer autonomy in Indonesia or independence.
Indonesia was invited into the Group of 20, as the only Southeast Asian countries in the group. In 2022, Indonesia held the G20 presidency with the topic 'Recover Together, Recover Stronger'. In 2023, Indonesia also held ASEAN chairmanship with the theme 'ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth'.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs have statutory responsibilities for Indonesian foreign policy. The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, is the President's principal foreign policy advisor. The Ministry advances Indonesian objectives and interests in the world through its primary role in developing and implementing the President's foreign policy. It also provides important services to Indonesian citizens and to foreigners seeking to visit Indonesia. All activities—bilateral programs, consular affairs, Indonesian representation abroad—are paid for by the budget, which represents a little more than 0.30% of the total government budget.
According to Foreign Ministerial Regulation No. 9/2021 concerning the Organization and Management of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, its purpose includes:
The Foreign Ministry advances Indonesian foreign policy by promoting (1) 'Maritime diplomacy and strong border'; (2) 'Advancing Indonesian leadership in ASEAN'; (3) 'Advancing Indonesian role in the international community'; (4) 'Stronger economic diplomacy'; (5) 'Prime service and protection of Indonesian citizens (Warga Negara Indonesia), legal entities (Badan Hukum Indonesia), and Indonesian Diaspora'; (6) 'Enhanced foreign policy'; (7) 'Significant national support and commitment for foreign policy and international agreements'; and (8) 'Monitoring efficient diplomatic results.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs is the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a member of the Cabinet that answers directly to, and advises, the President of the Republic of Indonesia on matters of Indonesian foreign policy and foreign relations. The minister organizes and supervises the Ministry and its entire staff, included the overseas missions. As of 2020, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has 3,349 Civil Service employees.
The Ministry is organized into the following structure:
The following centers is coordinated under the Secretariat General:
In Indonesia, the professional term "Diplomat" refers to a specific functionary post (Jabatan Fungsional) within the Indonesian Civil Service. Diplomatic ranks for Indonesian diplomats were modified in order to accommodate the classification for Indonesian Civil Service regulations.
Professional diplomats of the Foreign Ministry are part of the Indonesian Civil Service (Aparatur Sipil Negara), and thus trained and educated by the Ministry after passing the National Civil Service Examination (Seleksi Calon Aparatur Sipil Negara) and completing the National Civil Service Basic Training Program (Pelatihan Dasar Calon Aparatur Sipil Negara). The Foreign Ministry's Education and Training Center offers three education and training programs for diplomats to participate in:
The Foreign Ministry Building Complex is located on No. 6 Taman Pejambon Street in Central Jakarta. It is built around the historic Gedung Pancasila, which used to host the Dutch colonial assembly (the Volksraad) and the BPUPK committee during the Japanese occupation, as well as the Gedung Garuda next door, which used to host the Council of the Indies (the Raad van Indie).
The ministry also maintained several off-site locations, such as the Education and Training Center complex in Senayan, South Jakarta. The Societeit Concordia Bandung, better known as the Asian-African Conference Museum or the Merdeka Building in Bandung, is also maintained and organized under the ministry.
The construction of current modern structures first began on 7 January 1971 during the tenure of Foreign Minister Adam Malik. The buildings were designed by a team of architects from Perentjana Djaja. During this phase, four different structure was refurbished or completed:
By 1975, all construction and refurbishment project has been completed. The project was jointly executed by PT. Hutama Karya and PT. Moeladi, with a budget of IDR 2.5 billion per August 1972. President Soeharto and Foreign Minister Adam Malik officially inaugurate the Foreign Ministry Building Complex on 19 August 1975, the 30th Anniversary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On the early hours of 10 November 1988, a fire broke out in the East Wing and the Main Building. Firefighters managed to put the fire under control in an hour, with around ten offices heavily damaged. Several agendas of the Ministry have to move their venue or be cancelled.
Following the 1988 fire, several Foreign Ministry units and personnel were forced to work in separate office for some times, such as in Sam Ratulangi office (Menteng) or in Sisingamangaraja office (Kebayoran Baru), which resulted with disturbances and disorganized workflow within the Ministry.
In order to address this issue, a major renovation is planned, with PT. Pasaraya Tosersajaya assigned as the project developer; designs inspired by the original 1970s draft by Perentjana Djaja team were implemented by a team of architects of Parama Loka Consultants. A special attention and consideration was made during designing phase to properly present the Gedung Pancasila as the face of the Ministry. The renovated building would be painted white, rather than the previous light brown.
The renovation was executed by private contractor Total Bangun Persada, with an estimated budget of IDR 40 billion. It began in May 1991 with the cleanup of the fire-damaged East Wing and completed by August 1992, and inaugurated by President Soeharto on 19 August 1992, the 47th Anniversary of the Ministry, and just before the opening of 1992 Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Jakarta.
In March 2021, the renovation for Integrated Public Service Building (Gedung Pelayanan Publik Terpadu) is completed and inaugurated by Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.
The Foreign Ministry will be one of the first government ministries to be moved to the new capital in Nusantara, with asset and personnel transfer might happen as early as 2024.
Following a 10-month long renovation, Gedung Pancasila has been reopened by Foreign Minister Marsudi on 19 August 2024.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs currently maintains 132 diplomatic and consular missions (Perwakilan Republik Indonesia), which consist of: