Surin Pitsuwan
Former Secretary General, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
Date of Birth: October 28, 1949
Place of Birth: Nakorn Sri Thammarat, Thailand.
Dr. Surin Pitsuwan is a native of Nakorn Sri Thammarat, Southern Thailand. He received his primary and secondary education in his home province. He was awarded the American Field Service (AFS) exchange scholarship and was high school exchange student in Minnesota, USA, in 1967-1968. He returned to Bangkok, Thailand and attended Thammasat University for 2 years before winning a scholarship from Claremont Men’s College to complete his B.A. in Political Science (cum laude) in 1972. He then went on to Harvard University, where he received his M.A. in 1974 and Ph.D. in 1982 respectively, in the field of Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies.
Dr. Surin taught at the Faculty of Political Science at Thammasat University from 1978-1983 and 1984-1986. He joined the American Political Science Association’s Congressional Fellowship Program in 1983-1984, when he interned in the Congressional Office of US Representative Geraldine A. Ferraro, who later became the Vice Presidential Candidate for the Democratic Party in 1984, and worked for the Senate Republican Conference in the later half of 1984. He returned to Thailand in 1984 to his teaching position at Thammasat and ran for a Parliamentary seat from Nakorn Sri Thammarat, his home town. He has been returned to Parliament 8 times since 1986.
As an MP, he was appointed Secretary to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs during 1992-1995 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1997 to 2001. In September 1999, while the Asean Chair, he led the efforts to get Southeast Asian governments to help restore law and order and that joint undertaking, with the support of the United Nations and the international community, brought about peace and security in East Timor.
He was assumed his post as the Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) from 1 January 2008 until 31 December 2012.
After his term as Secretary General of ASEAN, Dr. Surin is now a Professor
Emeritus at Thammasat University and also an Honorary Advisor at the King
Prajadhipok’s Institute. At the same time, he is a Chairman under the Future
Innovative Thailand Institute (FIT).
