Emil Salim


Emil Salim is an Indonesian economist and former politician. Born of Minangkabau parents, both from the village of Koto Gadang in West Sumatra. His uncle is Agus Salim, one of the founding fathers of the Republic of Indonesia and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the early 1950s.
Salim graduated from the Faculty of Economics of the University of Indonesia in 1959. He obtained a PhD in economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and returned to Indonesia to a teaching position at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Indonesia in 1964. He became one of the well-known group of 'Berkeley Mafia' economic advisers, working closely with Professor Widjojo Nitisastro. In 1977 he was appointed to the position of professor of economic development at the University of Indonesia.
Salim has held a number of government positions, including:
Salim has chaired the Foundation for Sustainable Development and the Kehati Foundation, and co-chaired the United States-Indonesia Society. He is a member of the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals.

Extractive Industries Review

In July 2001 the World Bank launched an independent inquiry called the Extractive Industries Review. The review was headed by Salim. Salim held consultations with a wide range of stakeholders in 2002 and 2003. The EIR recommendations were published in January 2004 in a final report entitled Striking a Better Balance. The report concluded that fossil fuel and mining projects do not alleviate poverty and recommended that World Bank involvement with these sectors be phased out by 2008 to be replaced by investment in renewable energy and clean energy. The World Bank published its Management Response to the EIR in September 2004. The EIR served to alter the World Bank's policies on oil, gas and mining. Following the EIR process, the World Bank also issued a revised Policy on Indigenous Peoples.