The news of his passing was conveyed by former Jakarta deputy governor and former tourism minister Sandiaga Uno through his Instagram account.
"Farewell, Mr. Kwik Kian Gie, a true teacher and nationalist. A mentor who never backed down in the fight for truth. Who stood tall amid storms for the people and the nation," Uno wrote.
"Indonesia is in mourning," he added.
Kwik Kian Gie was born in Pati, Central Java, on January 11, 1935, and was of Chinese descent. After a career as an entrepreneur, he entered national politics and briefly served as Deputy Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) in October 1999.
He later served as Coordinating Minister for Economic, Financial, and Industrial Affairs under President Abdurrahman Wahid from 1999 to 2000, and as Minister of National Development Planning/Head of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) from 2001 to 2004 under the presidency of Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Kwik was a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), although he also served as an economic advisor to the Prabowo Subianto–Sandiaga Uno ticket during the 2019 presidential election.
The late economist founded the Kwik Kian Gie School of Business in North Jakarta.
Translator: Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Primayanti
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