Having emerged from authoritarianism in the last 15 years, Indonesia has made remarkable strides politically, economically and socially. Yet the new, democratic Indonesia is still a developing country facing considerable challenges. How can Indonesia continue its path of growth, reform and prosperity? What is Indonesia's role in the global community?

Please join the Foreign Policy Association for a Great Decisions Lecture  with H.E. Dr. Dino Patti Djalal, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the United States.

H.E. Dr. Dino Patti Djalal - Speaker
Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the U.S.

Dr. Dino Patti Djalal is the Indonesian Ambassador to the United States, a speech writer, youth activist, academic, and author of a national best seller.

He was previously a Special Staff for International Affairs and Presidential Spokesperson for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono - a position he had held since October 2004, and extended when SBY was re-elected by a landslide to a second term in 2009. That makes Dr. Dino Patti Djalal the longest serving Presidential spokesperson in Indonesia's modern history.

Dr. Dino Patti Djalal joined the Department of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia in 1987. He has been posted to Dili, London and Washington DC, before being appointed as Director for North American Affairs (2002-2004). In the early years of his career, as assistant to Director General for Political Affairs Wiryono Sastrohandoyo, he was involved in the Cambodian conflict, the settlement of the Moro conflict in The Philippines, the South China Sea disputes, and the East Timor conflict.

Dr. Dino Djalal - working closely with Robert Scher from the Pentagon - is the conceptor of the "US-Indonesia Security Dialogue", an annual bilateral consultations on security and defense matters that was conceived in 2001, and has continued to this day. Significantly, this dialogue was started 4 years before Indonesia-US military-to-military relations were normalized in 2005.

Dino's greatest passion is in youth affairs. Since 2008, he has established the "Innovative Leaders Forum" to promote innovative leadership from all sectors of Indonesian society. The Forum has held a series of public seminars presenting emerging leaders in the field of : local governance, education, peace workers, health, bureaucratic reform, entrepreneurship, moderate Islam, and climate change.

Dr. Dino Patti Djalal is a member of the Governing Board of the Institute for Peace and Democracy, which was established by the Bali Democracy Forum; a member of the Executive Board of the Indonesian Council on World Affairs (ICWA); and a commissioner at Danareksa, a Government investment company.