Indonesian president nominates acting head to lead central bank

Indonesia's president has named acting central bank governor Destry Damayanti as the sole candidate to assume the position she has held since Perry Warjiyo's sudden resignation last month, according to the government on Monday. Presidential spokesman Prasetyo Hadi confirmed there is only one name on the list, Destry Damayanti. The 62-year-old economist had previously served as deputy governor of the central bank since 2019.

After taking over from Perry in an interim role, Destry had previously been deputy governor since 2019. Perry's unexpected departure in late July marked the second major economic policymaker to leave since President Prabowo Subianto took office in October 2024. This led to speculation that Perry had faced pressure to bolster the government's pro-growth agenda, according to Capital Economics and other observers.

Analysts noted the choice of Perry's successor would be scrutinized for indications of political interference. Thomas Djiwandono, another deputy governor, had also been considered a potential candidate. The passage of a bill in July raised concerns about Bank Indonesia's independence by granting parliament the authority to assess the institution's performance and oversee economic growth, a key priority for Prabowo.

Perry's resignation occurred amid challenging circumstances, with the rupiah experiencing a sharp decline and the stock market sliding to Asia's worst-performing currency since February's Middle East conflict, losing around seven percent in value according to Bloomberg News. The central bank's board of governors, consisting of a governor and several deputies, is responsible for monetary policy and setting interest rates.

During Perry's final policy meeting in late July, the bank maintained its benchmark rate at 5.75% after 100 points of cumulative increases this year, which may have frustrated the government.