Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat

Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat (born 21 October 1952) is a former Indonesian diplomat. He served as an official in the Indonesian Department of Foreign Affairs for over two decades.

Before facing corruption charges in a trial in 2008, Sudjadnan had held several high-profile positions, including Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2002 to 2006), Ambassador of Indonesia to Australia (2001–2002) and Ambassador to the United States (2006–2009).^[1]

In 2011, Sudjadnan was sentenced to 20 months in prison. He was released in January 2012 and faced separate corruption charges in court in 2014, for which he was sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Early life and education

Sudjadnan was born on 21 October 1952 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. He is married with three children.^[2]

Sudjadnan graduated from Gadjah Mada University in 1978 with a degree in International Relations. He then joined the Indonesian Department of Foreign Affairs in 1981 and completed several courses with the department. In 1997 Sudjadnan attended a Master of International Affairs (MIA) Programme at Columbia University, New York City.^[2]

Career

Between 1981 and 2011, Sudjadnan was employed in Indonesia’s Foreign Service.^[1]

From 1982 to 1984, Sudjadnan served as attaché to the Indonesian Permanent Mission to Geneva; from 1984 to 1986, as Second Secretary to the Indonesian Permanent Mission in Vienna; from 1986 to 1988, as Head of Disarmament Section, Department of Foreign Affairs in Jakarta; and, from 1989 to 1992, Sudjadnan was the First Secretary in the Indonesian Permanent Mission to Geneva. In 1993, he returned to Jakarta where was appointed Head of Sub-Directorate Politics and Security in the Department of Foreign Affairs.^[2]

From 1996 until 1998, Sudjadnan served as Minister Counsellor at Indonesia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York City; in 1999 as the Secretary for the Task Force on the Implementation of the East Timor Referendum; from 1999 until 2001 as Director for International Organisations; and from 2001 to 2002 as Ambassador of Indonesia to Australia and Vanuatu.^[1] His time in Australia coincided with the Tampa affair, when the Australian Government denied permission to a Norwegian vessel to unload rescued asylum seekers at Christmas Island. Sudjadnan said that the asylum seekers should not be forced to go to Indonesia and that the Indonesian Government said they would not accept the asylum seekers.^[3]

Sudjadnan was recalled to Indonesia from Australia in April 2002, promoted to the role of Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs.^[4] He served in the role for four years, until the end of 2005, and also acted as senior official meeting leader for both the Asia Africa Summit and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In addition, he chaired the Third Non-Proliferation Treaty Preparatory Committee meeting during the treaty’s 2005 review and spoke at the Carnegie International Non-Proliferation Conference in April 2009.^[5]

On 13 January 2006, Sudjadnan was appointed Indonesian Ambassador to the United States.^[6]

Corruption charges

In 2008, the Corruption Eradication Commission implicated Sudjadnan in corruption relating to the renovation of the Indonesian embassy in Singapore, which had taken place in 2003 while he was Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs. According to Mochamad Slamet Hidayat, who was Indonesian Ambassador to Singapore in 2003, Sudjadnan had received US$200,000 of the project funds.^[7] Facing the anti-corruption court in Jakarta in January 2011, Sudjadnan denied receiving the fund and causing any losses to the State.^[8] He was found guilty of unlawfully disbursing funds to the embassy in Singapore and was sentenced to 20 months in prison.^[9] Sudjadnan's sentence was cut and he was released from prison early, in October 2011.^[9]

In February 2012 the KPK named him a suspect in a second case, alleging that he was responsible for budget misappropriations linked to 16 international events organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2004 and 2005, causing losses to the state of approximately US$2 million.^[9] In court, Sudjadnan claimed that he was acting on the instruction of President Megawati Sukarnoputri and the foreign minister, Hassan Wirajuda. He said that after the Bali bombings, the Government had sought to improve the country’s image by hosting as many international conferences as possible. He took pride in putting together 16 international conferences in just two years, claiming that the events would have returned far more money to the Indonesian economy than the cost to the Indonesian Government. He also claimed that financing for all 16 conferences was approved by the Ministry of Finance.^[9] In July 2014 Sudjadnan was sentenced to 30 months in prison for graft.^[10]

References