[Updated at 04:05 p.m. on April 11, 2022, for a correction in the third paragraph]

Jakarta. The House of Representatives has approved Mahendra Siregar as the new chairman of the Financial Services Authority, or OJK, concluding a two-day fit and proper test of 14 candidates to fill seven seats in the authority's board of commissioner for the next five years. 

"The OJK's board of commissioners for the 2022-2027 period has been agreed unanimously,"  Kahar Muzakir, the House's Commission XI chairman, which oversees finance and banking, said on Thursday. 

Mahendra is a trained economist, completing his bachelor's degree at the University of Indonesia and master's at Monash University in Melbourne. He started his professional career in the foreign affairs ministry in 1986. 

In 2005, Mahendra became deputy minister for international economic and financial relations, Coordinating Ministry for Economics and Finance, and kept the position for four years, serving under ministers Aburizal Bakrie, Boediono, and Sri Mulyani Indrawati, ambar puspa galuh consecutively. 

From 2011 to 2013, Mahendra served as deputy minister for trade, followed by a brief stint in the finance ministry to serve as deputy minister. He then leads the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) from 2013 to 2015. 

In 2018, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo appointed him as Indonesian ambassador to the United States, which he held for less than a year. Mahendra currently serves as deputy minister of foreign affairs.

During Wednesday's fit and proper test, Mahendra promised to synergize with the government, the House, and other state institutions in carrying out the national strategy.

"This is not about undermining OJK independence. But, there is a national goal; a national strategy covers all institutions, including OJK. We do not want to happen as if there is a state within a state," Mahendra told the lawmakers.

Joining Mahendra on the OJK board are Mirza Adityaswara, currently the senior deputy governor of Bank Indonesia, the country's central bank, and other seasoned executives or senior officials in Indonesia's financial industry. 

The following is the OJK Board of Commissioners for the period 2022-2027:

Chairman and member of the board: Mahendra Siregar

Deputy Chairman as Chair of the Ethics Committee and member: Mirza Adityaswara

Chief Executive of Banking Supervision and member: Dian Ediana Rae

Chief Executive of Capital Market Supervisor and member: Inarno Djajadi

Chief Executive Officer of Insurance, Pension Funds, Financing Institutions, and Other Financial Services Institutions and member: Ogi Prastomiyono

Chairman of the Audit Board and member: Sophia Issabella Wattimena

Member in charge of Consumer Education and Protection: Friderica Widyasari Dewi

Correction: A previous version of this article stated Mahendra joined the foreign affairs ministry in 1896. This has now been corrected. The Jakarta Globe apologized for the error.