Prof. Dr. Ir. Mohammad Sadli was a senior economist who took an important role in Indonesian economic development, especially in the the New Order era. Sadli’s involvement in government began as a member of President Soeharto’s economic advisory team. During the New Order era, Mohammad Sadli was appointed as Minister of Labor in Cabinet Development I (1971-1973), Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Investment (PMA), and served as Minister of Mining in Cabinet Development II (1973-1978).
He is a well-known economist with a background in engineering science. Previously, Sadli was an expert in engineering. He earned bachelor degree in engineering from Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta and his MSc degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. Turning his interest to the field of economics, he continued his education at Harvard University, USA. After coming back to Indonesia, he taught at University of Indonesia in 1953 and also studied there. He received his PhD in Economics from University of Indonesia. Prof. Sadli also was a FEB UI’s Lifetime Achievement Award holder for Economist Profession.
After retiring from the government, he worked as Adviser of Bapindo (1978), President Commissioner of PT. Aneka Tambang (1979), President Commissioner of PT. Indonesia Air Transport (1979), Member of the UN Committee on Development Planning (1984), and Secretary General of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Indonesia (1982-1985). He often asked by government and other private institutions to give his opinion on Indonesia’s economic development. Since 1984, he was a member of the United Nations Development Planning Committee. He is also a prolific writer, producing many articles on various newspapers and magazines such as Kompas, Sinar Harapan, and Tempo. Prof. Dr. Moh Sadli died at the age of 85 years in January 2008.