Ida Bagus Made Bimantara

Ida Bagus Made Bimantara, known as Sade Bimantara, was born in Bali and studied economics, finance, and communications at Victoria University of Wellington. During an earlier Washington assignment from 2006 to 2010, he worked on development, trade, investment, and environmental affairs. He then assisted the Indonesian president’s special staff for international affairs before serving as the embassy’s political counselor and spokesperson in Canberra from 2014 to 2018. ^{1, 2}

Bimantara later worked on Indonesia’s relations with Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific island states as deputy director for East Asia and the Pacific. Returning to Washington, he became acting chief of mission. In December 2023, he joined American officials in opening the U.S.–ASEAN Center, an initiative intended to connect businesses, universities, and civil society across the partnership. His public diplomacy also included a 2024 US–Asia Institute interview marking 75 years of bilateral relations. ^{1, 3, 2}

In May 2025, he participated in the opening of the embassy’s showcase for students of Indonesian, organized with Indonesian universities. By January 2026, he had returned to the Foreign Ministry as director of ASEAN external cooperation, signing the directorate’s annual performance report. ^{4, 5}