Bambang Brodjonegoro Appointed as New ADBI Dean

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (18 February 2025) —  Mr. Bambang Brodjonegoro has been appointed as the Dean of the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) based in Tokyo, Japan. He will assume office on 14 April 2025.

Mr. Brodjonegoro, an Indonesian national, is currently Special Advisor to the President of the Republic of Indonesia for Economic Affairs and National Development. He has served the Government of Indonesia in a number of leadership roles since 2005. He was Indonesia’s Minister of Finance (2014–2016), Minister of National Development Planning (2016–2019), and Minister of Research and Technology (2019–2021). 

“I am honored to join the Asian Development Bank Institute, a think tank which I have known and engaged with for many years. It has a strong reputation for high-quality research and capacity building training for policymakers in ADB’s developing member countries,” Mr. Brodjonegoro said.

“I look forward to working closely with partners and colleagues to identify development strategies that will help tackle the shared challenges facing the Asia and Pacific region and support the prosperity and health of its people.”

Mr. Brodjonegoro holds a doctorate and master's degree in urban planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Indonesia, where he served as Dean in 2005. 

Mr. Brodjonegoro will take over from Mr. Tetsushi Sonobe, who joined ADBI as Dean in April 2020. During Dean Sonobe’s 5-year tenure, ADBI has further developed into one of the leading global think tanks bridging research and policymaking. He lead the institute through the COVID-19 pandemic, while strengthening the research department and expanding and deepening its connections and partnerships across the globe.

In 2023, Dean Sonobe chaired T7, the think tank engagement network under Japan’s G7 presidency, which issued a communiqué of policy recommendations for G7 leaders.

ADBI was established in 1997 in Tokyo to identify effective development strategies and to help build the capacity for sound development management in developing economies in the Asia and Pacific region.