Former Minister of Finance of Indonesia Muhamad Chatib Basri joins LSE and CETEx as a Visiting Professor in Practice

LSE and CETEx are pleased to announce the appointment of Muhamad Chatib Basri as a Visiting Professor in Practice.

Professor Chatib Basri brings exceptional depth of experience spanning macroeconomic policy, fiscal governance, international trade and economic reform, forged over a distinguished career at the intersection of government, academia and international policymaking. He served as Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia from 2013 to 2014, guiding the country through a period of significant global financial challenges. Prior to this, he served as Chairman of the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), G20 Deputy for the Minister of Finance, and as Sherpa to the President of Indonesia for the G20 Summit, giving him extensive experience at the highest levels of national and international economic governance.

Professor Chatib Basri’s expertise extends across a wide range of global institutions. He is currently a member of the National Economic Council of the President of the Republic of Indonesia, the country’s advisory body on strategic economic policy. He serves as Co-Chair of the Pandemic Fund (Financial Intermediary Fund for Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response), hosted by the World Bank, and is a member of the Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance to the COP Presidency, co-chaired by Nicholas Stern and Vera Songwe. He teaches in the Department of Economics at the University of Indonesia and is a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University’s Center for International Development. He has published in leading academic journals, including the American Economic Review, the Oxford Review of Economic Policy, The World Economy, and the Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies. He holds a PhD in Economics from the Australian National University. In 2024, he was named a Fellow of the International Economic Association, an honour awarded annually to at most ten economists worldwide in recognition of excellence in research, writing and policymaking.

Professor Chatib Basri’s expertise in the political economy of fiscal and structural reform, macroeconomic management, international trade and climate finance aligns closely with CETEx’s mission to generate rigorous, policy-relevant research that supports sustainable, inclusive and resilient economic transitions. At CETEx, he will contribute to research and policy initiatives on economic governance and the political economy of reform, with particular relevance to emerging markets and developing economies navigating complex structural and financial transitions. Professor Chatib Basri is also a member of CETEx’s Global Advisory Board, which provides an independent external perspective on CETEx’s strategy, policy priorities and impact on economic transition across advanced and emerging market economies. CETEx warmly welcomes the insights he brings as it deepens its engagement on the critical challenges of sustainable and inclusive economic transformation.

Commenting on his appointment, Chatib Basri said:

“I am honoured to join LSE and CETEx as a Visiting Professor in Practice. The challenges of economic transition are among the most pressing of our time, and they are especially acute for emerging markets and developing economies, which must navigate the demands of sustainable and inclusive growth while managing significant fiscal and financial constraints. LSE’s combination of academic excellence and policy relevance makes it uniquely placed to advance the research and practical insights that policymakers need. I look forward to contributing to that work at CETEx and to building connections between the experience of economies like Indonesia and the broader global conversation on sustainable economic transitions.”

CETEx Executive Director, Rob Patalano said:

“We are delighted to welcome Professor Chatib Basri to CETEx and LSE as a Visiting Professor in Practice. Chatib Basri brings an extraordinary combination of academic rigour and frontline policy experience, having steered Indonesia’s economy through periods of acute global financial stress and shaped the country’s engagement with international economic governance at the highest levels. His deep expertise in the political economy of fiscal and structural reform, macroeconomic management and climate finance is directly relevant to the challenges facing emerging markets and developing economies as they navigate complex and often difficult transitions. We look forward to working with him to strengthen CETEx’s research and policy engagement across these critical areas, and to drawing on his unique vantage point as a policymaker, scholar and practitioner to advance practical, evidence-based solutions for economies in transition.”