TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo (Jokowi) was listed in the world's 50 greatest leaders ranked by Fortune for April 7th edition. Jokowi was ranked 37th.
Jokowi was included in the list because of his achievements as the Mayor of solo and as the Governor of Jakarta. In both cities, Jokowi had made changes, including in the city's spatial planning and in rooting out corruption in his institution. "Jokowi, as he's known, cleaned up the city and rooted out corruption, thrilling an Indonesian public weary of the status quo," the magazine wrote.
Since then, Jokowi's popularity has skyrocketed. "Now he's the favorite for Indonesia's July 2014 presidential election," Fortune reported.
Jokowi was among other world's figures on the list; including Pope Francis, who topped the list, and Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel in the second position.
Jokowi was also on the same list with the former US president Bill Clinton and Burmese reformation figure Aung San Suu Kyi. A Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama was also on the list.
Earlier, Jokowi was recognized as one of the world's 25 best mayors according to London-based The City Mayors Foundation. He was also ranked third world's best mayor by worldmayor.com in 2012.
SINGGIH SOARES