President Prabowo nominates Destry Damayanti as Bank Indonesia Governor

President Prabowo nominates Destry Damayanti as Bank Indonesia Governor

President Prabowo Subianto has formally nominated Destry Damayanti, the current Acting Governor of Bank Indonesia, to lead the central bank on a permanent basis, submitting a Presidential Letter to the House of Representatives on Monday.

State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi delivered the nomination to DPR RI Speaker Puan Maharani and Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta. The 62-year-old Damayanti is the sole candidate proposed by the president for the position.

If approved by parliament, Damayanti would become the first woman to permanently lead Bank Indonesia since its establishment in 1953, marking a historic milestone for gender representation in Indonesia's financial leadership.

Technocrat with extensive banking experience

Damayanti brings comprehensive experience spanning both the public and private sectors. She has served as Senior Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia since 2019 and was reappointed for a second five-year term in 2024. Before joining the central bank, she worked at Citibank Indonesia and served as Chief Economist at Bank Mandiri.

Damayanti automatically assumed the role of acting governor following Perry Warjiyo's resignation in July 2026, in accordance with the Bank Indonesia Law, which stipulates that the Senior Deputy Governor assumes the governor's duties when the position becomes vacant. Warjiyo had served as governor for seven years, having first been appointed in 2018 and reappointed for a second five-year term in 2023.

Hadi confirmed that along with the governor nomination, President Prabowo also proposed candidates to replace the Senior Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia and fill a vacant Deputy Governor position. He emphasized that the government leaves the confirmation process entirely to the DPR RI to handle according to applicable mechanisms, regulations, and laws.

Legal framework and historical precedent

Under Indonesian law, the Bank Indonesia Governor serves a five-year term and may be reappointed once. The President proposes candidates who must receive approval from the House of Representatives. While the law permits the president to nominate up to three candidates, every Indonesian president since 2010 has submitted only a single nominee, all of whom were subsequently approved by Parliament.

Fakhrul Fulvian, Chief Economist at Trimegah Sekuritas Indonesia, described Damayanti's appointment as the right choice for maintaining monetary policy continuity. According to Fulvian, Damayanti is a monetary technocrat with comprehensive experience spanning academia, financial markets, the banking sector, the Indonesia Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the central bank.

The nomination comes as Bank Indonesia has maintained its benchmark interest rate at 4.75% as of March 2026, following cumulative rate cuts of 150 basis points since September 2024. The new governor will inherit this monetary policy stance as she assumes leadership of the institution.