Hendra Halim

Born in Jambi^[1] on 25 April 1967,^[2] Hendra holds a bachelor's degree in development economics from the Jambi University and a master's degree in international trade from the Monash University.^[3] Since joining the foreign ministry in March 1995,^[2] Hendra has been posted to Indonesian representatives abroad, including as a consul at the Indonesian consulate general in New York since 21 March 2000,^[4] and at the embassies in Dakar and Mexico City.^[2] By 2012, he became the chief of data and working papers within the secretariat of the America and Europe directorate general.^[5] Sometime in the mid 2010s, he was posted to the embassy in Bern, becoming the chief of the embassy's economic section with the rank of minister-counsellor.^[6] During his tenure, the embassy established a permanent display warehouse for Indonesian products in Basel.^[7]

Upon serving in Bern, Hendra was briefly assigned to the directorate for Asia, Pacific, and Africa inter-regional cooperation^[2] before assuming office as the director of Europe II, covering Central Europe and Scandinavia, on 4 April 2018.^[8] During his tenure, he briefly became the acting director of Europe III, covering Eastern Europe, the Scandinavia, Balkans, and Turkey.^[9] He was involved in senior officials meeting with various Central, Eastern and North Europe countries,^[3] including accompanying foreign minister Retno Marsudi in a dialogue with her Latvian counterpart in 2019.^[10] He represented Indonesia in negotiations for the Indonesia-European Free Trade Association Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.^[3]

On 4 May 2021, Hendra became the consul general in Vancouver.^[11] Hendra officially began his tenure in July.^[12] From July to December 2024, Hendra became the chair of the ASEAN Consuls General in Vancouver (ACGV) Committee.^[13] During his chairmanship, the consulate general hosted the 57th ASEAN anniversary celebration.^[14] He officially ended his tenure on 30 April 2025 and handed over duties to chargé d'affaires ad interim Pinardi Priambodo.^[12]

In August 2024, President Joko Widodo nominated Hendra as Indonesia's ambassador to Panama, with concurrent accreditation to Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua. He passed a fit and proper test held by the House of Representative's first commission in September that year^[15] and was installed by President Prabowo Subianto on 24 March 2025.^[16] He presented his credentials to President of Panama José Raúl Mulino on 23 July 2025,^[17][18] President of Costa Rica Rodrigo Chaves Robles on 17 October 2025,^[19] President of Honduras Xiomara Castro on 21 October 2025,^[20] and to the foreign minister of Nicaragua Valdrack Jaentschke on 23 October 2025.^[21]