REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Former finance minister Ali Wardhana passed away at 15.30pm here on Monday at the age of 87 after he was reported ill before.

"Prof. Dr. Ali Wardhana passes away at around 15.30 this afternoon," one of the communication and information service staffs of the ministry of finance confirmed.

He is now laid in state at his residence on Jalan Patra Kuningan XV Number 6, South Jakarta before he is buried on Tuesday.

Ali Wardhana was born in Solo, Central Java, on May 6, 1928 and was one of the economic advisers of the New Order government of former President Soeharto before being named finance minister for the period of 1968-1983 and coordinating minister for economic affairs, industry and development supervision for the period of 1983-1988.

Ali Wardhana graduated from the Economic Faculty of Indonesia University in 1958 and obtained a Master of Arts degree from the University of Bekeley, California, the United States in 1961 and a PhD from the same university in 1962.

While a finance minister Ali Wardhana successfully steered the national economy by reducing inflation from 650 percent to 10 percent within three years of his tenure since 1968 through a "balanced budget" policy.

Ali Wardhana has received a number of awards including the Mahaputera Adiprana II from the Indonesian government, the Satyalencana Dwidja Sistha medal from the ministry of defense, the Gootkruis Leopold II from the Belgium king and Ali Grookruis in de Orange Nasau from Queen Yuliana of the Netherlands.

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