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Hatta Ali served in the Supreme Court for nearly five years before he was elected to lead the institution on Wednesday, replacing outgoing chief Harifin Tumpa who will retire on March 1.

Hatta’s career in the judiciary began in 1982 at the age of 32, first at the North Jakarta District Court and later at district courts in Aceh, North Sumatra, North Sulawesi and Banten, before being promoted to a High Court judge in Bali in 2003.

In 2004, then-Supreme Court Chief Justice Bagir Manan appointed him as his secretary and later as the Supreme Court’s director of general judiciary affairs.

It was not until 2007 that he was named a Supreme Court judge and began hearing appeals.

Among the controversial cases he heard was that of Prita Mulyasari, a 34-year-old mother accused of defaming Omni International Hospital in e-mails she sent to friends.

Prita received a six-month suspended prison sentence from the Supreme Court last July. All of the judges hearing the case, including Hatta, agreed that she should be found guilty.

The conviction, according to Slamet Yuwono, Prita’s attorney, directly contradicted the same court’s earlier acquittal of his client in a related civil case.

The Supreme Court ruling overturned a Tangerang District Court verdict that had cleared Prita of the charges in July 2009.

Prita reported the justices overseeing her case to the Judicial Commission for violating the code of ethics by convicting her of defamation.

The Judicial Commission also questioned Hatta when a Supreme Court clerk was caught accepting bribe money from a lawyer in 2005. The lawyer said Hatta had promised to help ensure that the money went to Bagir in exchange for a favorable ruling. The allegation was never proven.

Hatta’s last position was as the court’s deputy for internal supervision, monitoring the conduct and integrity of the 7,000 judges and 30,000 court clerks across the country.

Under his watch, three judges were arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for accepting bribes, and another was arrested by the National Police. Critics said the arrests only confirmed longstanding allegations of rampant corruption inside the judiciary.

Hatta last reported his wealth to the KPK in 2010 when he became the court’s deputy.

He stated in his wealth declaration that he had Rp 2.73 billion ($308,000) and $28,000 worth of assets, including a 262-square- meter property that he said was given to him by an undisclosed source in 1999.

On Wednesday, reporters asked him how his assets had nearly doubled. In 2006, when he became a Supreme Court director, he had assets of Rp 1.47 billion.

“My assets increased in value every year, like the prices of land do. They rose every year, so it’s normal,” he said.

Hatta must disclose his wealth again to the KPK this year after he is officially sworn in as the new Supreme Court chief.

• Age: 62
• Religion: Islam
• Education: Undergraduate: School of Law, Airlangga University, Master’s: School of Law, Airlangga University, PhD: School of Law, Padjadjaran University
• Declared Wealth: Rp 2.73 billion and $28,000 (2010)