Jakarta. The World Bank has appointed former minister Mari Elka Pangestu as its managing director for development policy and partnerships, World Bank Group president David Malpass announced in a statement on Friday. 

Mari served as Indonesia's trade minister under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during his first term in 2004-2009 and took the post of tourism and creative economy minister during Yudhoyono's second five-year term. 

"We're very pleased to welcome Mari to the Bank in this critical new role for the institution," Malpass said.

"Her experience as a senior minister, her globally recognized credentials as an economist and researcher, along with her extensive leadership experience and engagement in key international forums on important development issues, will greatly benefit our urgent work at the World Bank Group in support of broad-based growth and poverty reduction," Malpass said. 

Mari will start in her new role at the World Bank on Wednesday. She is the second woman from Indonesia to become a managing director at the bank, following in the footsteps of her close colleague, current Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

Sri Mulyani was the World Bank's managing director and chief operating officer before leaving her position in 2016 to take her old job as finance minister under President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's administration.  

It was Jokowi who last year nominated Mari to become the World Bank's managing director.

Mari is set to oversee the World Bank’s Global Practice Groups and its research and data division. She would also be responsible for the World Bank's external and corporate relations functions.

"It's a great honor to be joining the World Bank in its vital development mission. I look forward to the opportunity to work with this strong team on the urgent challenges facing the World Bank's members," Mari said in the statement. 

Mari currently holds various academic positions in universities in Indonesia and overseas, including the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University and the University of Indonesia. 

Mari's global credentials have put her in many international organizations. Today, she is the chairwoman of the board of trustees of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington D.C. She is also involved in the Leadership Council of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network. 

She also serves as a board member of think tanks Indonesia Bureau of Economic Research (IBER) and Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).