Arifin Tasrif

Arifin Tasrif is an Indonesian executive who is the Minister for Energy & Mineral Resources until reshuffle on 19 August 2024 in Joko Widodo's Onward Indonesia Cabinet.

Early life and education

Tasrif attended primary and secondary schools in Jakarta. He first entered the Saint Fransikus primary school in Central Jakarta run by the in Indonesia. Later he attended the nearby Kanisius middle school before entering senior high school in Medan, North Sumatra in the . Tasrif studied chemical engineering at the Bandung Institute of Technology, graduating in 1977. He is of Minangkabau descent.

Business career

Tasrif was the business director of the construction and engineering firm between 1995 and 2001, before becoming president director of the fertilizer company Petrokimia Gresik between 2001 and 2010. He then moved to the state-owned. He led the firm until 2015.

Political career

Ambassadorship

On 13 March 2017, Tasrif was appointed Indonesia's Ambassador to Japan and Micronesia by Joko Widodo. Tasrif had previously worked in Japan for two years starting in 1986 as an engineer. During this period, he was involved in the negotiations for a $20bn contract for a natural gas block with Japanese firm Inpex.

Cabinet minister

On 23 October 2019, he was appointed Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources. On 4 February 2022, Tasrif was temporarily replaced by Bahlil Lahadalia as ad interim minister due to a COVID-19 infection.