City, Mexico, as a staff of Indonesian Embassy from 1978 to 1982, and then from 1986 to 1987 he served as a staff of Political Section at the Indonesian Embassy in Madrid, Spain.

At the same place he appointed as Head of Section for Consular Affairs between 1988 and 1989. In 1992 – 1995 he took up the post of the Head of Political Section at the Indonesian Embassy in Sana’a, Yemen.

In 1995 - 1997 he also served as the Head of Political Section at the Indonesian Embassy in Ankara, Turkey. The latest posting was as the Head of Economic Section at the Indonesian Embassy in Seoul, South Korea for the period of 1999-2003.

In between his diplomatic postings, Mr. Bahar has filled a number of roles at DFA, serving as a staff of Directorate for American Affairs in 1985, Head of West European Section (1989-1992), Head of Division for Planning and Legislation (1997-1999), Head of Sub Directorate II – Directorate for Intra-regional Cooperation in 2003, and at the most recent as a Secretary to Directorate General for Asia Pacific and African Affairs (2003-2007).

His qualifications include Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Universitas Nasional in Jakarta, Indonesia and Master of Arts in International Affairs at Ohio University in USA. He also has completed a number of diplomatic courses during his career in DFA.