DR. DINO PATTI DJALAL

Dr. Dino Patti Djalal was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, on 10 Septem- ber 1965. Until the age of 21, Dino accompanied his father, Professor Hasjim Djalal, an Indonesian diplomat, to various postings in Guinea, Singapore, Washington DC, New York, Ottawa before going to study in British Columbia, Canada. Dino received his early education at SD Muhammadiyah Elementary School, SD Singapore Indonesian School (SIS), and the Al-Azhar Islamic High School in Jakarta. After graduating from Maclean High School (Virginia) at the age of 15, Dino earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science degree from Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada), a Master of Arts in Political Science degree from Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, Canada), and, in 2000, a Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science based on his dissertation on ‘preventive diplomacy’, which he wrote under the tutelage of international relations expert, the late Prof. Michael Leifer.

Dino commenced his diplomatic career in 1986, when he took up a position as a local staff in the Information Section of the RI Consulate in Vancouver. In 1987, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and since then has served as a diplomat in London, Dili, and most recently in Washington DC as head of the Political Affairs Section in the Indonesian Embassy there. In the initial stages of his career, he was the most outstanding graduate from the diplomatic courses he took such as the Caraka Madya (Mid-level Foreign Service) and Sesparlu (Senior-level Foreign Service) courses. In 1999, Dino was appointed spokesman for the Satgas P3TT (the Indonesian Task Force for Popular Consultation in East Timor). As a result of his service there, he rapidly rose up through the ranks of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in 2002 was appointed the Ministry’s Director for North and Central American Affairs. Then in 2004, he was selected by President Yudhoyono to serve as his special staff and spokesman on International Relations.

During his career with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dino has been involved in wide range of diplomatic initiatives, including the Cambodian peace process, the resolution of the Moro conflict in the Southern Philippines, the reconciliation process in East Timor, and deliberations on the South China Sea dispute. He was the architect of the U.S.-Indonesia Security Dialog (2001), which is still in existence today. Dino has also served as a member of the team assisting the President on COP-13, a member of the Governing Board of the Indonesian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), an associate scholar of the Brighten Institute, and on the Supervisory Board of PT Danareksa (Persero). He has written a number of books, including ‘Geopolitics of Indonesia’s Maritime Territorial Policy’, and was the editor of ‘Transforming Indonesia and Indonesia on the Move’. He also produced the documentary film, ‘Independent and Active Foreign Policy’ (2006). In addition, Dino somehow manages to find the time to regularly contribute articles to both domestic and international publications, and to teach in a number of universities and colleges. He is also one of the founders of ‘Modernisator’ (www.modernisator.org), a grouping of young nationalists, internationalists, idealists, innovators and high-achievers.

He is married to Drg. Rosa Rai, and has three children, Alexa, Keanu and Chloe.