Harry Purwanto (born 12 May 1955) is an Indonesian diplomat who served as ambassador to Finland from 2008 to 2011 and ambassador to Nigeria from 2014 to 2019. Between his two ambassadorial tenures, he was the deputy for international cooperation in the National Counterterrorism Agency. He was a career foreign service officer in the foreign department, holding various positions within the foreign department central office and representatives abroad such as the deputy chief of mission of the embassy to the U.S. and director for North and Central America.
Early life and education
Harry was born in Nganjuk, a regency in East Java, on 12 May 1955. He studied law at the Gadjah Mada University and graduated in 1981. He briefly worked as a section chief within the legal division of Hutama Karya, a state owned construction company, from 1982 to 1983 before applying for the foreign department.
Diplomatic career
Harry began his career as a foreign service officer upon completing his basic diplomatic education, which lasted for a year from 1983 to 1984. His first assignment was as a staff at the secretariat of the directorate general of protocol and consular affairs. He underwent his first overseas assignment as a political staff at the permanent mission to the United Nations in New York in 1986, where he worked for five years. By his second year in the mission, he was reassigned as a press officer.
Harry Purwanto as deputy chief of mission of the Indonesian embassy in the U.S.
Upon returning to Indonesia in 1991, he was appointed as the chief of administration to the foreign department's bureau of senior advisors. In 1994, he was sent to the embassy in Berlin, where he was assigned to the press and information section. Between 1998 and 2001, he coordinated the human rights task force within the foreign department's directorate of international organizations in his capacity as the deputy director for human rights and sciences. His multilateral expertise grew further in September 2001 when he was appointed as the chief of political affairs at Indonesia's mission to the United Nations in Vienna, where he also chaired the G-77 task forces on the matter in 2002. He served in the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. In October 2002, he was appointed as the deputy chief of mission at the embassy in Washington D.C.
On 28 December 2005, Harry was named as the director of North and Central America in the foreign department. In 2007, Harry successfully negotiated Indonesia's debt to the U.S. to be swapped for tropical forest conservation programs. On 26 November 2007, Harry underwent an assessment by the House of Representative's first commission for his nomination as the ambassador to Finland and Estonia by the president. After passing the assessment, he was sworn in on 8 April 2008 and presented his credentials to president Tarja Halonen of Finland on 23 May 2008 and to president Toomas Hendrik Ilves on 5 June 2008. Shortly prior to his departure from the position, on 26 May 2011 Harry was conferred the Commander Grand Cross Order of the Lion of Finland by Halonen for his role in strengthening bilateral relations through government and non-government cooperations. Harry was then appointed as the deputy for international cooperation in the National Counterterrorism Agency, in which he chaired Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's task force for counterterrorism during Indonesia's 2013 chairmanship of the organization. Under Harry's leadership, the task force produced fourteen different decision, including on shrinking the gap between each country's ability to handle counterterrorism and the elevation of the task force into a working group.
↑Purwanto, Harry (June 2008). "Penyerahan Surat-Surat Kepercayaan Duta Besar LBBP RI kepada Presiden Republik Estonia"[Handing Over of Credentials from the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Indonesia to the President of the Republic of Estonia](PDF) (Press release). Kedutaan Besar Republik Indonesia di Helsinki. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
↑Syafputri, Ella (5 March 2015). Tri Ratomo, Unggul (ed.). "Dubes RI diterima hangat di Nigeria"[Indonesian Ambassador warmly received in Nigeria]. Antara News. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
↑"Penyerahan Surat Kepercayaan Dubes RI LBBP kepada Presiden Ghana"[Handing over of Letters of Credence from the Indonesian Ambassador LBBP to the President of Ghana]. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. 8 September 2015. Archived from the original on 2 May 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
↑"Dubes RI Serahkan Surat Kepercayaan kepada Presiden Togo"[Indonesian Ambassador Hands Over Letters of Credence to the President of Togo]. Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Abuja. 11 January 2016. Archived from the original on 18 June 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
↑"Penyerahan Surat Kepercayaan Duta Besar RI LBPP kepada Presiden Congo"[Presentation of Credentials of the Indonesian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the President of Congo]. Kedutaan Besar Republik Indonesia Di Abuja, Republik Federal Nigeria. 6 March 2017. Archived from the original on 3 June 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
