Former Chevron boss dies at 74

While I was going through yesterday’s newspaper I read half-page Obituary (on page 49 of Kompas daily newspaper dated August 22, 2007) for Bapak Haroen Al Rasjid from Chevron IndoAsia Business Unit.

The news as appeared on The Jakarta Post: Former Chevron boss dies at 74.

Haroen Al Rasjid, a former president of PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia (formerly Caltex Pacific Indonesia), passed away here Tuesday morning. He was 74 years old.

He is survived by his wife, Astari Rasjid, and three children.

Haroen recently suffered a stroke and was being treated at Jakarta's MMC hospital.

The body was taken to the family's home on Jl. Teuku Umar in Menteng, Central Jakarta, before being transported to Kalibata Heroes Memorial Cemetery in South Jakarta for burial.

Many remembered Haroen as sincere and hard working, and a man of numerous achievements.

"He was full of charisma, pleasant and warm in person," CPI president Suwito Anggoro said during Haroen's memorial service. "His apt social skills led to his being respected and regarded not only within the company, but also outside."

Born in Medan, North Sumatra, on March 14, 1933, Haroen spent his childhood in Blitar and Malang, East Java.

He earned a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia.

It was during his university years in Australia that Haroen received his first hands-on professional experience working for a number of different companies.

Returning to Indonesia, Haroen went to work for CPI in 1958, climbing the corporate ladder through dedication and hard work. He became CPI's government relations superintendent for the Rumbai region in 1967, and in 1977 took over as president from Julius Tahija.

Haroen helped transform CPI into a world-class oil and gas company.

He resigned in 1994 and served as chairman of CPI's board of commissioners until 2003.


I met him once when I presented seismic-processing output at then PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia, located in Rumbai, Riau. I was still a rookie in this field and Jeff – my co-op advisor when I was there – made me do it. Pak Haroen was about my height but he’s very charismatic. (Pak Zen – my former advisor when I was studying in ITB – made a practical joke specifically on short men: genius and charismatic leaders are usually short, for example Napoleon Bonaparte, Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, BJ Habibie, and the likes.)

How strange... as I and one of my Client made a good comment on him in our meeting about two weeks ago. Rest in Peace, Pak Haroen.