Why Is The Leadership Of Bank Indonesia Called The Governor? Check Out His History And Responsibility

YOGYAKARTA - In a structural position at Bank Indonesia, the head or leader is called the governor. This position has a term of office such as the president, which is for 5 years. Many have asked why the leadership of Bank Indonesia is called the governor?

Gubernur BI menjadi posisi paling tinggi di bank sentral Indonesia ini dan dibantu oleh deputy gubernur. Tugas gubernur BI secara umum yaitu membawa Bank Indonesia dalam mencapai dan menjaga stabilitas nilai rupiah melalui pengelolaan bidang moneter, stabilitas sistem keuangan, dan sistem pembayaran.

Currently, Perry Warjiyo holds the position of governor of BI for the period 2023-2028. It is interesting to see why the leadership of Bank Indonesia is called the governor and his responsibility.

History of the naming of the highest position in the country's central bank stems from the system in the UK. Formerly in the UK, the head of the central bank was a board of governors led by a governor.

In the British royal sphere, an initial governor was the official appointed by Elizabeth's king or state cabin to oversee the colony. At that time, a governor was also sometimes referred to as the head of the colonial government.

In relation to the UK central bank, the governors advised as top-level executive teams of the World Bank. The governors collaborated with the World Bank policy committee to oversee the fulfillment of the World Bank's mission.

In general, the leadership of central banks around the world is referred to as governor. The term or naming of the position is actually more based on habit. The governor's name as BI's highest position is also not tied to Bank Indonesia's independent or free from government interference.

Based on the official website bi.go.id, the history of Bank Indonesia began in 1951 when strong pressure emerged to establish a central bank as a form of economic sovereignty of the Republic of Indonesia.

The Indonesian government then decided to form the De Javasche Bank (DJB) nationalization committee. The nationalization process is carried out through the purchase of DJB shares by the government. The amount of shares purchased reached 97 percent.

On July 1, 1953, the Indonesian government issued Law no. 11 of 1953 concerning the Principles of Bank Indonesia which replaced DJB Wet in 1922. Since then BI has officially been established as a Central Bank of the Republic of Indonesia.

In this time there used to be a Monetary Council (DM) which had the task of setting monetary policy. DM is chaired by the Minister of Finance with members of the Governor of BI and the Minister of Trade. Furthermore, BI is tasked with implementing monetary policy that has been set by DM.

Perry Warjiyo was born in Sukoharjo on February 25, 1959. Perry has an educational background in the economic field. He studied at the Faculty of Economics at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) and graduated in 1982.

After that, Perry Warjiyo continued his master's degree at Iowa State University. Perry won the Master's degree in 1989 and the 1991 Ph.D (for the monetary and international economy) degree from the same university.