Ignasius Jonan Appointed as the Committee Chair for Pope Francis' Arrival to Indonesia in Early September 2024

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Ignasius Jonan was appointed as chair of the committee for the arrival of Pope Francis to Indonesia, who is scheduled to visit on September 3 to 6, 2024.

Meanwhile, several other figures were involved as steering committee members for Pope Francis' arrival committee, namely Chair of the Indonesian Catholic Bishops' Conference (KWI) Antonius Subianto Bunjamin, Archbishop of Jakarta Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo and Vatican Ambassador Piero Pioppo.

According to the Minister of Religion (Menag), Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, Pope Francis will visit Indonesia on September 3, 2024. The Indonesian government has received confirmation of Pope Francis' arrival from the Vatican authorities.

"Based on a letter from the Vatican received by the Indonesian government, Pope Francis will attend on September 3, 2024. This will certainly be an honor for the Indonesian people," said Yaqut, on March 30, 2024.

Yaqut said that President Jokowi had been waiting for the arrival of the highest leader of the Catholic community since 2022.

“Thank God, after almost two years of waiting, Pope Francis was finally able to come to Indonesia. "I think this is a special gift for Catholics in particular," said Yaqut.

Ignasius Jonan, who will lead the committee for the arrival of Pope Francis, has prepared everything well. However, before welcoming Pope Francis, first find out the profile of the chair of this committee.

Profile of Ignasius Jonan

Ignasius Jonan was born on June 21, 1963, in Singapore. He is a Bachelor's graduate from the Faculty of Economics majoring in Accounting, Airlangga University. After that, he continued his studies at the Master of Arts in International Relations and Affairs from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.

Ignasius Jonan has a good reputation as a management and finance practitioner with extensive experience. He has had a career at several well-known institutions, such as Citibank, PT Bahana Pembinaan Usaha Indonesia (Persero), and PT Kereta Api Indonesia or KAI (Persero).

Apart from being involved in the corporate world, Ignasius Jonan has also been involved in the world of government. He once held the position of Minister of Transportation for the 2014-2016 period. After that, he was appointed Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources) for the 2016-2019 period. His services in the public sector reflect his management expertise and vision for implementing sustainable development.

Then, in 2020, Ignasius Jonan became Independent Commissioner at Unilever. He has held this position since the General Meeting of Shareholders on July 24, 2020. Quoted from Unilever's official website, the Chair of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee has contributed to the business world and is part of the corporate sector.

During his career in various fields, Ignasius Jonan won several awards. Referring to the Indonesian Accountants Association website, he won the Accountant Award in 2013 and 2019. Apart from that, he also plays a role in the world of education. He received an Honorary Doctorate (Doktor Honoris Causa) from Airlangga University (Unair) Surabaya in 2021.

Currently, Ignasius Jonan serves in the world of consulting as a Senior Advisor at Accenture Indonesia. Apart from that, he has also been the President/Independent Commissioner of PT Anabatic Technologies Tbk since 2021. Then, on November 15, 2023, he was awarded the Star of the Order of Gregory the Great and was appointed as Commander of the Knights of St. Gregory the Great.

RACHEL FARAHDIBA R | PUTRI SAFIRA PITALOKA

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