Bagas Hapsoro

Raden Bagas Hapsoro (born 8 August 1958) is an Indonesian career diplomat. A law graduate from the University of Indonesia, Bagas held roles in both bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, dealing with economic issues, security, and international cooperation. Bagas served as Indonesian ambassador to Sweden and Latvia from 2015 to 2020 and to Lebanon from 2007 to 2010. He also served in ASEAN as the deputy secretary general for community and corporate affairs from 2009 to 2013 and in the foreign ministry as advisor for management affairs from 2014 to 2015.

Early life and education Born in Yogyakarta on 8 August 1958, Bagas is the son of Santoso Pujosubroto, a judge who later became the deputy chairman of the Supreme Court of Indonesia. He spent most of his childhood in Padang, where his father was stationed shortly after his birth. In Padang, he lived near the local Radio Republik Indonesia office. He attended the Alang Lawas Padang elementary school in 1970. Upon finishing high school, he studied law with a specialization in public international law at the University of Indonesia and graduated in 1982. During his first diplomatic posting in New York, he pursued a master's degree in law and macro-economic policies at St. John's University from 1987 until his graduation in 1991.

Career Bagas began his career as a civil servant at the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (Badan Pengkajian dan Penerapan Teknologi, BPPT), but left the agency after six months to apply for the foreign department. He was accepted and undertook basic diplomatic course in 1984. His initial career was at the economic affairs section of the permanent mission to the United Nations in New York from 1986 to 1991, with the rank of third secretary. He was then posted to head the economic section of the consulate general in Houston from 1994 to 1995. In Houston, Bagas was responsible for handling bilateral economic issues. to December 2005, Hapsoro returned to Jakarta to serve as the secretary to the directorate general of ASEAN cooperation. On 28 December 2005, Bagas became the director for ASEAN dialogue partner and intra-regional affairs in the foreign ministry. He chaired the negotiation of the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response in Bali in 2005 and led the Indonesian delegation to the ASEAN Convention on Counter Terrorism in Manila in 2006. He presented his credentials to the President of Lebanon Émile Lahoud on 6 November 2007. During his tenure as ambassador, Bagas was involved in promoting cultural exchange, including hosting the Ramayana Ballet in 2008 and facilitating Indonesian participation in the Kahlil Gibran International Seminar in November 2009. Following the 2009 earthquake in Padang, Hapsoro composed a song titled Padang Don't Lose Your Hope to raise awareness and funds for the victims. Bagas also lobbied the Lebanon president Michel Suleiman to allow the presence of Indonesian ships in UNIFIL by correspondence with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. KRI Diponegoro (365) was eventually deployed and served as part of UNIFIL's maritime task force from April to October 2009. For his role in supporting the Garuda Contingent, he was awarded an honorary UN peacekeeping blue beret by contingent commander Restu Widiyantoro in February 2010. He ended his term on 28 February 2010 and was replaced by chargé d'affaires ad interim R.A. Arief.

Deputy Secretary General of ASEAN

In the midst of his term as ambassador to Lebanon, Bagas was offered to apply for the newly formed post of deputy secretary general of ASEAN for community and corporate affairs by the Indonesian foreign ministry. The post was established following the adoption of the ASEAN Charter. Bagas, who competed against 52 other candidates from all 10 ASEAN countries at that time, was selected at the 5th ASEAN Coordinating Council meeting on 22 October 2009. He began his duty on 7 December 2009 and was sworn in exactly a week later on 14 December in Jakarta. Bagas was responsible for managing the systems, procedures and resources of ASEAN secretariat to ensure the fulfillment of its roles and mandates in ASEAN community and charter.

During his tenure, Bagas expressed his hope for Jakarta to "increase in power and relevance", imagining it to become what he described as the 'Brussels of the East' in the future. He received offers from the Indonesian government to expand the secretariat by acquiring neighboring buildings. He served as deputy secretary general until December 2012. Afterwards, he was sworn in as the advisor (expert staff) to the foreign minister for management on 23 April 2014.

Ambassador to Sweden and Latvia Bagas Hapsoro exchanging namecards with the Dutch ambassador to Indonesia Marc Gerritsen. On 6 August 2015, Bagas was nominated as ambassador to Sweden and Latvia by President Joko Widodo. After undergoing an assessment by the House of Representatives's first commission in September 2015, Bagas was installed on 23 December 2015. He presented his credentials to the King of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf on 15 March 2016 and to the President of Latvia Raimonds Vējonis on 19 April 2016. He spearheaded the annual Indonesian Festival from 2016 to 2019 in Stockholm to showcase Indonesian culture, cuisine, and arts.

Personal life Upon his retirement from the diplomatic service, Bagas joined the Indonesian Council on World Affairs and became the chairman of its executive council.

Bagas is married to Sumaningsih Retno Savitri and has two daughters.