Surin Pitsuwan '72, former Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs and a principal member of the country's parliament since 1986, has been appointed Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Southeast Asia's top political and economic grouping.
Pitsuwan succeeds Singaporean diplomat Ong Keng Yong, whose term ended on Dec. 31, 2007. Pitsuwan's five-year tenure became effective Jan. 1, 2008 and continues through Dec. 31, 2012, putting him at the helm of ASEAN members Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnaman international market between China and India with more than 500 million people in 10 countries.
Pitsuwan's appointment was formally endorsed by ASEAN leaders at the 13th ASEAN summit in Singapore last November. After being sworn in during ceremonies in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Jan. 7, Pitsuwan pledged to make progress on addressing human rights and the transition to democracy in member state Myanmar, to ensure ratification of the ASEAN charter by all 10 member-states, and to develop a blueprint for an ASEAN security community.
Speaking about the charter, which envisions the creation of a European Union-style economic alliance for the grouping, Pitsuwan told an audience of diplomats and academics that the Charter "is meant to help us consolidate our core, improve our coordination, and accelerate our speed in the face of new challenges and stiffer competition.
"It is up to us," he said, "to fashion a new approach, conceive a new strategy, and recalibrate the old ways of doing things to accomplish our higher goal of a global and competitive ASEAN . . . We will bring the full force of our expertise to explain and to assure that the charter will be good for the region as a whole."
A veteran politician and academic, Pitsuwan studied for two years at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand, before winning a scholarship to CMC where he majored in political science and graduated cum laude. He then went on to Harvard University, earning his master's and doctorate degrees in 1974 and 1982, respectively, in political science and Middle Eastern studies. Returning to Bangkok, Pitsuwan spent nearly a decade teaching at the Faculty of Political Science at Thammasat University from 1978-1983 and 1984-1986, where he also served as an assistant to the deputy dean for academic affairs. From 1975-1992 he was a columnist for the Nation and the Bangkok Post, the two leading English daily newspapers in Bangkok.
While teaching in 1986, Pitsuwan ran for a Parliamentary seat in his hometown, Nakorn Sri Thammarat, and has been returned to Parliament, in the National Legislative Assembly of Thailand, eight times since. He was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand from 1997-2001, and served as chair of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting and the ASEAN Regional Forum from 1999-2000.
Often referred to as the voice of moderate Islam in Southeast Asia, he is the second Thai national to achieve the position of Secretary-General of the ASEAN. Prior to assuming his newest role, Pitsuwan was also a deputy leader of the Democratic Party and served on the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC), charged with bringing peace and security back to Thailand's southern region.