Thomas Lembong

Thomas Trikasih Lembong (born 4 March 1971), colloquially known as Tom Lembong, is an Indonesian politician. Since 27 July 2016, he has been Head of Indonesia's Investment Coordinating Board (Badan Koordinasi Penanaman Modal). He formerly served as Minister of Trade of Indonesia from 12 August 2015 to 27 July 2016.^[2][3]

On 29 October 2024, the Attorney General's Office named Tom Lembong as a suspect in the sugar import corruption case.^[4][5] The decision to bring Tom to trial is nearly 10 years after his alleged offense. He has been imprisoned and allowed no visitors other than his wife and his lawyers. There is speculation that Anies Baswedan will launch a new political party for the next general election. Tom Lembong, presumably, would have a key role. Anies Baswedan is regarded by many as the most likely and most competitive candidate for the 2029 election. Baswedan has attended Lembong’s trial in person at least once.

Main positions held by Thomas Lembong before becoming Head of the Investment Coordinating Board include the following:

• 1995: Staff member in the Equities Division in Morgan Stanley (Singapore).
• Senior Manager in the Corporate Finance Department of Makindo Securities, an investment bank in Jakarta.
• Investment banker with Deutsche Securities in Jakarta.
• 2002–2005: Division Head, and Senior Vice President, Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency in Jakarta.
• 2006: Founding member and managing partner and CEO, Quvat Management, a private equity fund established in 2006, also working with Principia Management Group, Jakarta.
• 2008: elected as a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum.
• 2012: President Commissioner, PT Graha Layar Prima Tbk, an Indonesia-based cinema operator.

On 12 August 2015, President Joko Widodo ("Jokowi") appointed Thomas Lembong as Minister for Trade in the first cabinet reshuffle since the Jokowi administration had taken office on 27 October 2014.^[6] Thomas Lembong held the position until he was appointed as Head, Investment Coordinating Board, in July 2016.^[7] On taking over as Head of the Investment Coordinating Board, he described President Jokowi's economic reform philosophy as having two principles: openness and competition.

He emphasized that following the cabinet reshuffle and the appointment of Enggartiasto Lukita as the next Trade Minister, he expected that there would be policy continuity in trade and investment policy in Indonesia.^[8]

August 2015, Jokowi appointed Tom Lembong as Minister of Trade. Joko Widodo : (PDIP Party) “Jokowi” was the first president not to have emerged from the country's political elite or to have been an army general. He served as president from 2014-2024. He was also the first president to have been a regional politician (mayor & governor). His opponent was Prabowo Subianto who disputed the outcome of the election. Jokowi focused on an agenda of economic growth, infrastructure, health and education.

Tom Lembong became known for writing Jokowi’s speeches, especially the 2018 “Winter is Coming” speech mixing in popular culture from Game of Thrones while highlighting that proper fiscal and monetary policies were needed to counter the negative impacts of the trade war, technology disruption and financial market uncertainty. Jokowi was re-elected in 2019 for a second five-year term, again defeating Prabowo Subianto. In his second term, Jokowi began appointing ministers and administrators from Subianto’s opposition party, including Subianto as his minister of defense.

Tom had stayed a close ally of Jokowi until his second term in office. Jokowi’s relationship with the PDI-P party also deteriorated, culminating with his support of Prabowo for the 2024 presidential campaign instead of his own party's presidential candidate. Prabowo named Jokowi’s son, Gibran Raka, as vice president on his political ticket. In April 2024 the PDI-P declared that both Jokowi and Gibran would no longer be PDI-P members. Tom Lembong became a vocal critic of Jokowi's change in policies, and by the end of 2023 Lembong joined presidential candidate Anies Baswedan's campaign team as an economic advisor, speechwriter, and spokesperson.

On October 29, 2024 Tom Lembong was named as a suspect in the sugar import corruption case. The decision to bring Tom to trial is nearly 10 years after his alleged offense. He has been imprisoned and allowed no visitors other than his wife and his lawyers. There is speculation that Anies Baswedan will launch a new political party for the next general election. Tom Lembong, presumably, would have a key role. Anies Baswedan is regarded by many as the most likely and most competitive candidate for the 2029 election. Baswedan has attended Lembong’s trial in person at least once.