Profile – Indonesian ambassador to Ethiopia used to be journalist

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Writing news, short stories, poems and even novels as well as serials for several magazines since he was a teenager in West Sumatra, apparently did not make Al Busyra Basnur continue to pursue a career in journalism.

Nevertheless, the achievements made by the man born in Payakumbuh, West Sumatra on July 20, 1960, continued to climb as he was active in various student and youth organizations.

In 1984-1985, Al Busyra participated in the Indonesian-Canadian youth exchange program, and in 1986-1987 he served as a group leader.

Not satisfied with his Bachelor of Laws degree from Andalas University (Unand) in West Sumatra province’s capital of Padang, Al Busyra continued his postgraduate program in International Law at the University of Santo Tomas (UST), Manila, the Philippines.

The career path of the husband of Wenny R Oemar seemed brighter when he began serving in the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1988.

At the ministry, the journalistic expertise of the father of two daughters and one son was honed when he was assigned as a member of the information staff at the Indonesian Embassy in Manila from 1992 to 1996.

Three years later, in 1999-2004 Al Busyra was appointed Head of Social and Cultural Information at the Indonesian Embassy in Rome, Italy.

Al Busyra’s career abroad continued to fly as he worked as the Assistant Special Staffer to the President for International Relations in 2005-2010. Shortly in 2010, he was appointed Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia in Houston, United States until 2013, then assigned as Director of Public Diplomacy from September 2013 to December 2017.

Before finally serving as an ambassador, Al Busyra was entrusted to hold a position overseeing the Directorate General of Information and Public Diplomacy at the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in January 2018 – February 2019.

A month later, he was appointed Indonesia’s Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to Ethiopia, Djibouti and the African Union. His office is located in Addis Ababa.

Al Busyra’s performance in the country where he serves as an ambassador received high recognition as he was bestowed an award by the State Minister for Culture and Tourism of Ethiopia on December 13, 2019.

Furthermore, on February 8, 2020, he received an award from the Ethiopian youth organization, Safe Light.

Both awards were given to Al Busyra for his great efforts in advancing Ethiopian youth, as well as developing the cooperation between the Ethiopian and Indonesian youths.

Reporting by Indonesia Window