Dr. Djalal joined the Department of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia in 1987. He has been posted in London (1992-1997), Dili (1999), and Washington (2000-2002), before being appointed as Director for North American Affairs (2002-2004). From 2004 to 2010 he was Presidential Spokesperson for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. He served as the Indonesian Ambassador for the United States from 2010-2013.

As Ambassador, Dr. Djalal founded and organized the first world Congress of Indonesian Diasporas and has advanced the US - Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership. Dr. Djalal previously initiated the US - Indonesia Security Dialogue, begun in 2001, and the Forestry-11 (F-11) process, a consultative process involving tropical rainforests nations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, begun in 2007.

Dr. Djalal is a member of the Governing Board of the Institute for Peace and Democracy, which was established by the Bali Democracy Forum, and a member of the Executive Board of the Indonesian Council on World Affairs.

Apart from his official duties, Dr. Djalal’s greatest passion is in youth affairs. He is the founder of Modernisator, a movement of like-minded progressive and reformist young leaders, and the conceptor of Generation-21, a program which aims to awaken and develop a sense of unique identity and challenge among youth. Currently, he actively leads Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia, a community of foreign policy enthusiasts comprising of young people.

Dr. Djalal obtained his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada) and his master’s degree in Political Science from Simon Fraser University (British Columbia, Canada). In 2000, he received his doctorate from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

In 2010, Dr. Djalal received the Bintang Jasa Utama medal from President Yudhoyono, one of Indonesia’s highest awards for distinguished service. In 2012, he received the Indonesia Marketing Champion 2012 award for the government and public services sector and the Marketer of the Year 2012 award from the Indonesian Marketing Association, MarkPlus Inc., and Marketer.

Dr. Djalal is the author of seven books.