It runs in the Family
From my father I learned discipline and from my mother the importance of education,” purnomo yusgiantoro recalls his own upbringing; his father was an army captain and his mother a schoolteacher. “Growing up, my father instilled discipline but it was my m
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With their family rooted in humble beginnings, the erudite Purnomo Yusgiantoro and his sons speak with Dewald Haynes about the importance
of family, education, and nationalism
“A decade later I found myself with a certain amount of money,” Purnomo continues es his story. “And I thought: What could be the best investment? And so I decided to use my own money and uproot my entire family to settle in Colorado and further my studies while working.” Purnomo met his wife, Lis Yusgiantoro, in high school and to this day the love and respect between them are desirous. Together they have two sons, Luky and Inka, as well as a daughter: “My daughter, Filda, married Alex Wibowo who became my third son.” This is how the former Governor, Secretary General, and President of OPEC, former Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources for three presidents, and former Minister of Defense, became fortunate enough to have three sons.
All three sons look up to their father as their mentor. Luky, the eldest son and the Vice President of Oil and Gas Management Representative, Oil and Gas Special Task Force (SKK Migas) of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, had a very clear vision about returning to Indonesia. Luky had followed his father’s path graduating in PHD Energy Economics from Colorado School of Mines. “Dad always said, we needed to educate ourselves and come back - because our country needs us,” he explains. “When I first came back, I could really see how much improvement was needed in Indonesia, and also how I could contribute towards these improvements.” Being focused on improving their own knowledge, through higher education, the Yusgiantoro family can be referred to as the “PHD Club.” With their collective expertise, Indonesia has gained a wealth of homegrown expertise to harvest from.
“Dad has inspired me all along from the beginning,” Inka says after being asked to identify a role model in his life. After completing his PHD from Cornell University and post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard, Inka has moved back to his country and is currently a Senior Economist at Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK). Being the second son, living in America left the biggest impression on him, “We stayed with our host family in the US, after Dad returned to Indonesia.” Purnomo encouraged his sons to complete their doctorate studies in the US, “but we always knew we would return to live in Indonesia, in order to help uplift our own home country.” It becomes obvious, when talking to Inka, that although most of his formative years were spent in the US, his roots are in Indonesia.
While Alex mentions, “I met Filda in Paris, when I was living in the Netherlands. At the time I did not have a PHD yet, but I was very motivated by my “soon-to-be” father-in-law’s achievement in his studies at that time.” Afterwards, Alex got his blessings from Filda’s parents to marry Filda and they moved to California to continue his doctorate studies at UC Berkeley in California, majoring in Economic Law. Now, Alex has returned to Indonesia and is a lecturer of International Business Law at the University of Pelita Harapan, as well as to practice as principal of the WWS Law Office, Jakarta. Meanwhile, Filda is currently a PHD Candidate at Monash University, Australia, majoring in business and economics. As a family, united through their achievements, influence and relevance in society, it is surprising how humble and approachable Purnomo and his sons are. Purnomo has always been thankful to God for His many blessings given to his family. Family definitely comes first as the cardinal foundation to strengthen their bond. “I wanted my sons to be part of the global world, but still be in touch with who they are,” Purnomo explains. And who they are is a proudly Indonesian family who has become a formidable force of wisdom, courage and hope in Indonesia.
“We need to educate ourselves and come back to Indonesia. Because our country needs us,”