Indonesia's President Replaces Finance Minister After One Year

President Prabowo Subianto of Indonesia has replaced Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa after one year in office, appointing Deputy Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara to the position. Purbaya had served as Finance Minister for approximately one year since his inauguration on September 8, 2025. Suahasil Nazara was sworn in by President Prabowo at the State Palace in Jakarta on the afternoon of Monday, September 14, 2026. Following his inauguration, Suahasil stated that he received specific directives from the President to maintain the health of the state's finances. "The President's special directive is to maintain the state's finances. That means maintaining its health and credibility," Suahasil said after his inauguration. Suahasil views his appointment as Finance Minister not as a major overhaul, as he has been accompanying Purbaya as Deputy Finance Minister. He also guaranteed the maintenance of the state budget deficit below 3%, amidst massive government spending to finance large projects. "The deficit will remain below 3%," Suahasil assured. When Purbaya took office in early September 2025, the Indonesian economy was under pressure and overshadowed by pessimism. With his 'cowboy' communication style, characterized by bluntness and surprises, Purbaya introduced several unconventional policies. These included injecting Rp 200 trillion of government funds into state-owned banks (Himbara) and closely scrutinizing the spending of ministries and agencies. Over the past year, economic growth did appear higher after Purbaya's tenure. The average growth for the four quarters before Purbaya was around 4.99%, while the subsequent four quarters reached 5.33%, an increase of 0.34 percentage points. "If the design had been in line with what I and the President wanted at the time, we should have grown faster. We should have been around 6%," Purbaya told detikcom in a special interview on Tuesday, September 8, 2026. Purbaya also implemented several policies that drew scrutiny, ranging from financing credit for the 'Koperasi Desa Merah Putih' with Village Funds to taking over the debt of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Rail project.