Kuntoro gets honorary doctorate at Northeastern University

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 05/07/2012 8:12 AM | World

Kuntoro Mangkusubroto: Kompas.com/Kristianto Purnomo
Presidential Working Unit for the Supervision and Management of Development (UKP4) head Kuntoro Mangkusubroto has received an honorary doctoral degree from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.
The award, which was given on Friday, was recognition for Kuntoro’s work on the US$8 billion post-tsunami reconstruction project in Aceh and Nias, North Sumatra through the Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (BRR), which he helmed at the time.
Six additional honorary doctorates were handed out during the 110th anniversary of the university, including one to former US secretary of state Colin Powell, who gave this year's keynote speech.
Kuntoro was the only non-American at the ceremony to receive an honorary doctorate this year.
"He is very proud to accept this prestigious award as a son of Indonesia," said UKP4 spokesman Achmad Santosa as quoted by tempo.co on Sunday.
In addition to his reconstruction work, Kuntoro, a former energy and mineral resources minister, was considered to have had an important role in leading the energy sector between 1989 and 2001. (png/mtq)