HS Dillon is one of the prominent figures in Indonesia in the field of Human Rights and Political Economy. In 2006 he was awarded the Global Award by the Priyadarshni Academy, India, as a person of Indian descent who contributed to the country he lived in. In 2007 he was bestowed the Bintang Jasa Pratama, by then President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and he received one of the highest medals, the Bintang Mahaputra Utama from President Joko Widodo in 2015.

HS Dillon was graduated with Bachelor's in Agriculture and Agricultural Engineer degrees from the University of North Sumatera. He earned his PhD at Cornell University, New York in 1983, in Agricultural Economics, majoring in International Trade and Development, with minors in  Resource Economics and Developmental Sociology.

HS Dillon was appointed as Special Envoy to the President of Indonesia for Poverty Alleviation in April 2011. He served as a member of the National Economic Committee (KEN) 2010 – 2012.

He served as chair of ITBs 2004 - 2006, and now a member of the ITB (Bandung Institute of Technology) Board of Advisors and has been a member of the Washington - based International Policy Council on Agriculture Food and Trade since 2005. He served as the Executive Director of the Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia during 2003 - 2006. He had served as the Head of the Coordinating Agency for Poverty Reduction in 2001 and as Founder & Executive Director of the Center for Agriculture Policy Studies from 1997 until 2003.

He was a Commissioner on the National Commission of Human Rights from 1998 to 2002. He was a member of the President’s Economic Council (Dewan Ekonomi Nasional) 1999 - 2000. He also served on the Joint team on Corruption Eradication (Tim Gabungan Pemberantasan Tindak Pidana Korupsi) 2009 – 2013, reporting to the Attorney General.

He also served as Co - Chair of the Advisory Board the Nature Conservancy Indonesia Program 2009 - 2015. He served as Vice President Asian Society of Agricultural Economists, Seoul 1996 – 1999, and was a member of the Consultative Committee, Common Fund for Commodities, Amsterdam 1991 -1992. He was the Chief Negotiator for Agriculture and Tropical Products in Indonesian Delegation to the Uruguay Round Negotiations 1988 – 1993.