Who We Are
The Governing Council
The Governing Council (GC) is the highest decision-making body of ASEAN-IPR, consisting a representative from each ASEAN Member State (AMS), along with the Secretary-General of ASEAN and the Executive Director (who serve as Ex-Officio Members of the Council). The Council’s work includes formulation of guidelines and procedures for activities, funding and budget of the institute.
H.E. Pengiran Hairani Pengiran Haji Tajuddin
H.E. graduated with B.A. in History (Major), Anthropology from University Brunei Darussalam in 2001. Prior to joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), she was a Tutor for Anthropology at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam. In January 2005, H.E joined MFA as a Second Secretary and was assigned to the Department of Politics 1. H.Es her first posting was Bangkok December 2007 until December 2010. H.E. was promoted to Assistant Director while at the Department of Policy Planning in March 2012. Since then, H.E. was assigned to several departments in the MFA including Office of the Second Minister of then Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Department of ASEAN. H.E. was assigned to Jakarta in December 2017 to serve as the Special Advisor at the Office of the Secretary-General of ASEAN before returning to the MFA Brunei in September 2019. H.E was appointed as the Permanent Representative of Brunei Darussalam to ASEAN in June 2020.
H.E. Ambassador Yeap Samnang was born on 1 December 1979 in Pursat Province of Cambodia. He is currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, the Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Cambodia to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). He also sits as the Representative of Cambodia to the Governing Council (GC) of the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR).
Prior to his current post, he was Deputy Director-General for ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) and for Community and Corporate Affairs (CCA) from 2016 to 2019 at the General-Department of ASEAN (ASEAN-Cambodia), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia (MFA.IC). He has been appointed ? among others ? as Deputy Director, Head of Division of Administration and ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation at ASEAN-Cambodia (2015-2016); First Secretary at the Royal Embassy of Cambodia to the Republic of Indonesia and Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Cambodia to ASEAN in Jakarta (2011-2015); and Deputy Director, Head of Division of ASEAN Political Cooperation at ASEAN-Cambodia (2010-2011). Before joining the MFA.IC in December 2004, he had been serving as a Desk Official at Bureau of Legislation and Copyrights at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts of Cambodia from 2002.
Besides, Ambassador Samnang has also working background with NGOs/SCOs, teams of students, youth activities and a researcher in Cambodia. He is awarded with a Master Degree of Social (M.Sos) in Diplomacy from Paramadina Graduate School of Diplomacy in Jakarta, Indonesia, and a Diploma of High-Ranking Civil Servants, majoring in Diplomacy, from the Royal School of Administration in Phnom Penh. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Public Law from the Royal University of Law and Economics, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
He was decorated the Royal Order of the Kingdom of Cambodia in Commander in 2018.
Mrs. Artauli RMP Tobing is the Indonesian representative to the Governing Council of ASEAN-IPR. Previous to this, she was the Indonesian representative to the Advisory Board of the ASEAN-IPR from 2014-2017. She also served as the Indonesian Ambassador to Vietnam from January 2004 until February 2008. She was awarded the “Medal for Friendship” from the Vietnam Union Friendship Organisation, Hanoi, Vietnam (6 February 2007).
After returning from Vietnam, she served as the Head of the Policy Planning Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia.
After her retirement as a career diplomat Mrs. Tobing served as the Executive Secretary of the Presidential Advisory Council on Foreign Affairs, Dr. N. Hassan Wirajuda from March 2011 until October 2014. Since 2014 Mrs. Tobing is also a lecturer for the graduate program on ASEAN Diplomacy at the Paramadina University and Pelita Harapan University.
She also served as the Eminent Person’s Group representing Indonesia to the Indian Ocean Dialogue in 2015.
Born in Jakarta, Mrs. Tobing earned a Degree in English Literature from the University of Indonesia in 1976 and later was awarded the Fulbright & Hayes Scholarship for her Masters degree in American Studies at the George Washington University in Washington DC from September 1976 – June 1978.
Mrs. Tobing started her career as a diplomat at the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia in 1981 and was posted at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Indonesia in Geneva from August 1984-August 1988; and then later in the Indonesian Mission to the EU in Brussels from August 1992-August 1996. Then, from June 1999-July 2002, Mrs. Tobing was posted in the Indonesian Embassy in Ottawa.
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H.E. Mr. Ekkaphab Phanthavong has been appointed as Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Lao PDR to ASEAN since April 2018. He served as Deputy Director for External Relations Division in ASEAN Department of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR from 2004 to April 2009 before posting as Second Secretary of the Permanent Mission of the Lao PDR to ASEAN in Jakarta from May 2008 to 2009. He was then appointed as Deputy Permanent Representative and First Secretary from 2009 to January 2012.
After completing his diplomatic mission in Jakarta, he was appointed as Deputy Director-General of ASEAN Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs from February 2012-March 2018.
Ambassador Ekkaphab received his Master of Arts in International Relations at Flinders University in South Australia in 2002.
H.E. Ms. Kamsiah Kamaruddin is currently the Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). She also sits as the Representative of Malaysia to the Governing Council of the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR).
Previously, she was the Undersecretary for Americas in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Malaysia. She has also served as – among others – Undersecretary for Europe (2017); Deputy Director-General for the ASEAN-Malaysia National Secretariat (2016); Deputy High Commissioner, High Commission of Malaysia in Singapore (2011); Principal Assistant Secretary, Southeast Asia Division, MFA of Malaysia (2005); Second Secretary, Embassy of Malaysia in Bangkok (2001); Assistant Secretary, Public Diplomacy (1998) and Assistant Secretary, Policy Planning (1993) in the MFA of Malaysia.
H.E. Ms. Kamsiah Kamaruddin was born on 3 October 1967. She has a B.A. (Hons.) from University of Keele, United Kingdom and a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Management from the National Institute of Public Administration.
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H.E. U Aung Myo Myint was born on 26 July 1964 in Zalun Township of Ayeyawady Region. He currently sits as the Permanent Representative of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar to ASEAN. Prior, he was appointed as the Director-General to the Strategic and Training Department of Myanmar in September 2019. He attained his Bachelor of Arts in 1984 from Yangon University majoring in English before pursuing a Master Degree in Southeast Asia Studies in Tsubuka University, Japan in 2005.
H.E. U Aung Myo Myint began his political career in 1986 as an Attach in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar, undertaking many diplomatic posts including in New Delhi (1991-1993) as Third Secretary; Kathmandu (1999-2003) as Second and later first Secretary; Beijing (2005-2008) as First Secretary and Counsellor, and Brussels (2011-2014) as Counsellor/Minister Counsellor. Following his tenure as Assistant Director of Political Department from 2003 to 2005, he has been appointed, among others, as Deputy Director of ASEAN Affairs Department (2008-2011), Director of ASEAN Affairs Department (2014-2016), Deputy Director-General of ASEAN Affairs Department, and Deputy Permanent Representative/Minister of the Permanent Mission of Myanmar to the UN in Geneva (2018-2019).
His extensive experience has granted him with three awards celebrating his contribution to civil service, namely the Law and Order Award (1994), the Civil Service Award (2006), and the Excellent Civil Service Award (2019).
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Ambassador Noel Eugene Eusebio M. Servigon is a career Foreign Service Officer of the Republic of the Philippines. He joined the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1988. His diplomatic postings were in Vienna, Austria as Third/Second Secretary, Vice Consul/ Consul and Alternate Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency; in Ankara, Turkey, as First Secretary and Consul; in The Hague, Netherlands as First Secretary, Consul, and Deputy Permanent Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons; in Abu Dhabi, UAE, as Minister and Consul General; in Manado, Indonesia, as Chief of Mission and Consul General; in Hong Kong as Chief of Mission and Consul General; and in Hanoi as the Philippine Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. On 8 May 2019, he assumed his position as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Philippines to ASEAN.
At the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila, he served in the Office of Personnel and Administrative Services, Office of ASEAN Affairs (as Director for the then-ASEAN Standing Committee), Office of United Nations and Other International Organizations, Office of the Undersecretary for Administration and as an Assistant Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Head of the Human Resources Management Office. Ambassador Servigon has degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Laws and Master of Public Management from the University of the Philippines.
His first job was teaching. He has taught history, political science, and consulardiplomatic affairs in several colleges in Iloilo City and Manila. Ambassador Servigon was born in 1962 in Iloilo City. He is married to Marichu Torrato Servigon, formerly a Training Specialist at the Foreign Service Institute. They have two adult sons, Eugene Sumakwel and Patrick Suleiman.
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Ms. Kok Li Peng has been serving as Singapores Permanent Representative to ASEAN in Jakarta.
Ms. Kok graduated with a Bachelor of Laws, Second Class Honours, from the National University of Singapore in 1994.? She obtained a Masters in Arts (Political Science) from Columbia University in 2006, on a Fulbright Scholarship.
A career diplomat, Ms. Kok joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1995. She has served as Ambassador in Manila from March 2015 to December 2018. Before her ambassadorial appointment, Ms. Kok served as Director-General in the ASEAN Directorate from 2012 to 2015. Her other overseas postings include Permanent Mission of Singapore to the United Nations in New York, where she was Deputy Permanent Representative and Counsellor from 2008 to 2012, and Embassy of Singapore in Washington, D.C as a First Secretary from 1999 to 2002. Her other assignments in Ministry Headquarters include Deputy Director covering Malaysia and Brunei from 2006 to 2008 and Assistant Director covering Malaysia and Brunei and subsequently Assistant Director for Special Projects from 2002 to 2005.
Ms. Kok Li Peng was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Bronze) in 2008. She was appointed to the NIE International Board in 2012.
Dr. Sukontasap has been appointed as Representative of Thailand to the Governing Council of ASEAN-IPR since 2017. He has extensive experience in working in the government and private sectors, as well as in the academic circle. He has served as head of the Cambodian Desk at the Foreign Ministry of Thailand in the final stages of the Cambodian Conflict, which resulted in the signing of the Paris Peace Agreement in 1993. He was in charge of the ASEAN-SOM desk and was responsible for organizing the 1st ASEAN Regional Forum in Bangkok in 1994. He also served at the United Nations in New York as assistant to the first Co-Chairs of the General Assembly Open-ended Working Group on the Reform of the UN Security Council, between 1995-1996.
In the private sector, Dr. Sukontasap currently serves as Chairman, Board of Directors, Vesak Capital Ventures Co. Ltd. (VCV). Prior to this, he served as Director, CEO and deputy CEO of a number of publicly listed companies in Thailand. Dr. Sukontasap specializes in Tax, Trade and Fiscal issues, with special focus on WTO and AFTA rules and regulations. He was also based in Hong Kong and Malaysia.
Dr. Sukontasap received his B.A. in political science from Chulalongkorn University, Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy and Doctorate degrees from the Fletcher School, Tufts University. Has also attended the Managing Global Business Program for Senior Executives at INSEAD, France. Dr. Sukontasap was a Fulbright, John E. Peurifoy and Manuel L. Quezon scholar. He is an advisor to the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, National Legislative Assembly of Thailand. He is also a Director to the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors of the Exim Bank of Thailand. Most recently, he was the editor of a 260-page book entitled 50 Years of Thailand in ASEAN, published in May 2018.
He is married to Mrs. Ruyaporn Sukontasap, a diplomatic officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.
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Permanent Representative of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to ASEAN.
Dato Lim Jock Hoi was the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Brunei Darussalam since 2006.
During his tenure, he served as Brunei Darussalams Senior Official for the ASEAN Economic Community Pillar (SEOM), APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) and the ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting). He was a member of the High Level Task Force on ASEAN Economic Integration (HLTF-EI) since 2001, serving as the HLTF-EI Chair in 2017. He was Brunei Darussalams Chief Negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), as well as for the P4, precursor to the TPP negotiations. Previously, he was also the Co-Chair during the negotiations for the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA), and also served as Brunei Darussalams Chief Negotiator for the Brunei Darussalam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (BJEPA).
From June 2011-2017, he was the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). He was also on the External Advisory Board for the ASEAN 2030 Study being undertaken by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
He entered the Government Service as an education officer in 1977 and served as principal of a Secondary School from 1981-1985. From February 2001-July 2005, he was appointed as Director-General, International Relations and Trade Development, Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources. In September 2005, he was appointed as Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
He graduated from the City of London Polytechnic in B.Sc (Hons) Economics in 1976 and received his Post Graduate Certificate of Education in 1977.
He was awarded The Most Honourable Order of Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei, second Class (D.P.M.B) in 2007. He is married with two sons.
The Advisory Board
The Advisory Board (AB) is responsible to advise the GC on the research priorities of the Institute. The AB also comprises of a representative from each ASEAN Member State, consisting of eminent persons in the field of peace and reconciliation, with the Executive Director of ASEAN-IPR also serving as an Ex-Officio Member.
Acting Director, Department of Policy Planning, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Brunei Darussalam
After graduating with an LL.B from University of Wales, Cardiff in 1999 and being called to the Bar at Lincolns Inn, England in 2000, Ms Riana joined Civil Service in October 2000 as a Counsel at the Attorney Generals Chambers (AGC) of Brunei Darussalam. She was promoted to Deputy Senior Counsel in 2011 and in 2012, she obtained her LL.M in Public International Law from Queen Mary, University of London.
She has spent the most part of her career in Chambers with the International Affairs Division, specialising in matters pertaining to inter alia, Law of Treaties, ASEAN, International Trade and Law of the Sea. She was appointed Head of International Affairs Division on 8 July 2019.
She represented Brunei Darussalam at the 6th Committee for the 59th United Nations General Assembly, was the focal person for ASEAN Senior Law Officials Meeting (ASLOM), ASEAN Law Association (ALA) and Commonwealth Senior Officials of Law Ministries Meeting (SOLM) from 2004-2016, a delegate for the High Level Legal Experts Group (HLEG) in 2009, lead negotiator for the Legal and Institutional Issues Working Group for the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) negotiations and chaired on behalf of ASEAN a number of meetings for the Working Group on Legal and Institutional Issues for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP).
She received the ALA Outstanding Service Award on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the ASEAN Law Association on 25 October 2017.
On 13 May 2020 she was transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She is currently the Acting Director of the Dept of Policy Planning and also Head of the Treaties Division.
Dr. Nurmala Kartini Pandjaitan Sjahrir or known as Dr. Kartini Sjahrir, is the Indonesian representative to the Advisory Board of ASEAN-IPR. She also served as the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay from 2010 to 2014. She was awarded Order de Mayo el Meritoen el Grande Cruz from the Government of Argentina in 15 September 2014.
Since 2015, she is the Advisor for Climate Change for the Indonesian Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia.
Born in Balige, North Sumatera, Indonesia, she was active in women’s rights movement and environment activities in Indonesia, organizing and speaking in national and international forums on women’s rights, diversity, building a culture of peace and climate changes. She received her Masters degree and Ph.D. in Anthropology from Boston University in Massachusetts in 1990 and her B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Indonesia.
H.E. Phomma SIDSENA is appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Lao PDR to the Republic of Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste since November 2019. Previously he served as Director-General of Europe-Americas Department of the Committee for External Relations of the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party from 2018 to November 2019, the Acting Head of Cabinet of the Committee for External Relations of the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party from 2011 to 2013, the Director of the Eastern Europe Division of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR (MoFA) from 2009 to 2011, the Director of Functional Cooperation Division of MoFA from 2002 to 2005, and the Director of Southeast Asia and Pacific Division of MoFA from 1997 to 1999. He joined the MoFA since 1984.
Ambassador Phomma was posted as Third Secretary at the Embassy of the Lao PDR in Beijing from 1991 to 1992, First Secretary at the Embassy of the Lao PDR in Jakarta from 1999 to 2002, Counselor at the Embassy of the Lao PDR in Washington D.C. from 2006-2009. Later, he was posted as Minister at the Embassy of the Lao PDR in Hanoi from 2013-2017.
Ambassador Phomma graduated with a Master Degree in International Relations in Australia in 1997, and a Bachelor Degree in International Relation in Viet Nam in 1984.
Professor Dr. Kamarulzaman Askandar is the Representative of Malaysia to the Advisory Board of the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR). He is a Professor on Peace and Conflict Studies in School of Social Sciences and Professor on International Relations Programme, Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Heritage, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).
At present, Prof. Dr. Kamarulzaman also holds positions and/or membership in various organisations. Among others, Regional Coordinator of the Southeast Asian Conflict Studies Network (SEACSN), Steering Committee Member of the Southeast Asian Human Rights and Peace Studies Network (SEAHRN), International Advisor for the Consortium for New Aceh, as well as a Member of the Mediation Support Network (MSN). He has written many books and proceedings on peace, conflict management and reconciliation; in addition to numerous articles on the subject.
Prof. Dr. Kamarulzaman Askandar holds a B.Sc. (Political Science) from the Department of Political Science of West Texas State University, USA; a M.A. (Government) from the Department of Government of the University of Texas at Austin, USA; and, a Ph.D. (Conflict Resolution) from the Department of Peace Studies of the University of Bradford, UK. His honours include nomination for Merdeka Award in 2016, recipient of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Recognition Award for Peacebuilding in Southeast Asia in 2014, Certificate in Peace Mediation from the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), Switzerland, Centre for Security Studies ETH Zurich, and Swisspeace in 2011, and Certificate in Conflict Transformation from Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA in 2000.
U Kyaw Myaing is a retired diplomat with 20 years of service. In 1988 he was given early retirement for taking part in the nationwide demonstrations for a democratic government.
His last post at the MOFA – Ministry of Foreign Affairs was Deputy Director of the Consular Division. As a foreign service officer he has served at the Myanmar embassies in New Delhi and Kuala Lumpur. In Malaysia he served for four years.
In 1989 he joined the UNDP Country Office as NPO – National Programme Officer. He took care of the Trade, Transport, Cooperatives and Labour sectors. He served as the Leader of the Border Control team in the Foreign Affairs Service of UNTAC – United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia for one year in 1992. From 1994 to 2004 he has served at the UNDP head quarters in the areas of programme management and information management. After 1999 he has worked as a consultant for the UN in the area of youth affairs.
He is now working as a member of the Myanmar ISIS (Institute for Strategic and International Studies). He is currently a member of the Advisory Board of the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation.
Director Isidro L. Purisima
Deputy Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process-Operations
Joseph Chinyong Liow is Dean of College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences and concurrently, Dean of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, where he is also Professor of Comparative and International Politics. He held the inaugural Lee Kuan Yew Chair in Southeast Asia Studies at the Brookings Institution, Washington DC, where he was also a Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Program.
Josephs research interests encompass Muslim politics and social movements in Southeast Asia and the geopolitics and geoeconomics of the Asia-Pacific region.
Joseph is the author, co-author, or editor of 14 books. His most recent single-authored books are Ambivalent Engagement: The United States and Regional Security in Southeast Asia after the Cold War (Brookings 2017), Religion and Nationalism in Southeast Asia (Cambridge University Press, 2016) and Dictionary of the Modern Politics of Southeast Asia, fourth edition (Routledge, 2014). A regular columnist for the Straits Times, his commentaries on international affairs have also appeared in New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, National Interest, Nikkei Asian Review, and the Wall Street Journal.? He has testified to the United States Congress, and been invited to deliver a special closed door briefing to the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting. ?In addition to scholarship and policy analysis, Joseph has also consulted for a wide range of MNCs including Shell, BHP Billiton, Chevron, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Total, and Statoil. He sits on the board of several peer-reviewed academic and policy journals and the expert panel of the Social Science Research Council (Singapore), and is Singapores representative on the Advisory Board of the ASEAN Institute of Peace and Reconciliation formed under the auspices of the ASEAN Charter.
Joseph Liow holds a PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science, an MSc in Strategic Studies from the Nanyang Technological University, and a BA (Hons) in Political Science from the University of Madison-Wisconsin.
Ms. Phasporn Sangasubana has been appointed as the Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Thailand to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since 31 May 2017.
Prior, she was Deputy Director-General of the Department of ASEAN Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Thailand. She has held the position of among othersMinister, the Royal Thai Embassy in Singapore (2012-2013); Minister-Counsellor/Minister, the Royal Thai Embassy in Moscow, Russia (2009-2012); as well as Counsellor, the Royal Thai Embassy/ Permanent Mission of Thailand to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Vienna, Austria (2001-2004).
Ambassador Phasporn has supported Thailand as ASEAN Chair in 1987 and 2009. She has also supported tasks to assist Thais during the Gulf War (1990) and joined Thailand’s campaign as the Candidate to the Secretary-General of the United Nations (2004-2006).
Ambassador Phasporn was born in Bangkok, Thailand. She has BA in Political Science from Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan, and MA in International Affairs from Ohio University, Athens, USA. She has been awarded with the Knight Grand Cross (First Class) of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant in 2014.
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H.E. Ambassador Le Cong Phung is a veteran diplomat, formerly the Permanent Vice Minister of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam. During his 40-year career as diplomat, he has held various positions and built up a wide range of experience in international relations, foreign policies, international economics, international negotiations and international relations research. He was Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Viet Nam to the United States and Thailand; the APEC SOM Chair for 2006 during Viet Nams Chairmanship; Head of Delegation to Viet Nam-China Boundary and Territory Negotiation; and the Chairman of Viet Nam National Commission for UNESCO.
He is married with two children.
Education
He graduated in 1971 from the University of Diplomacy (now the Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam).
He is fluent in English.
Career
From 2007-2010, he was appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the United States of America. From 2004-2006, he was Permanent Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. Prior to that, he was Assistant Foreign Minister and then Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1999-2004. From 1997-1999, he was Director-General of South East Asia ? South Asia ? South Pacific
From 1971-1997, he worked in various positions within the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam.
During his career, Ambassador Le Cong Phung served in various foreign service posts in England (1974-1977), China (1978-1980), Indonesia (1984-1987) and as Ambassador to Thailand (1993-1997) and to the United States of America (2007-2010).
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ASEAN-IPR Secretariat
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
The Executive Director (ED) of ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR) represents the Institute in all administrative and operational matters, and manage activities of the Institute. The ED is responsible to the Governing Council, and would make regular reports on the work of the Institute to the relevant Senior Officials to the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) Council.
Ambassador I Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja is currently the Executive Director of ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR).
Previously, he was Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Permanent Representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) (February 2016-June 2020). He was ASEAN-SOM Leader Indonesia/Director-General for ASEAN Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and also served as High-Level Task Force Indonesia on ASEAN Community Post-2015 Vision (2012-2016). He also served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Indonesia to the Republic of Austria and Republic of Slovenia, concurrently the Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna (March 2010-2012). In 2006-2009, he served as Ambassador/Deputy Permanent Representative of Indonesia to the United Nations, World Trade Organisation and other International Organisations in Geneva.
In addition to the above assignments, Ambassador Puja also served as Vice Chairperson of the Conference of State Parties (CSP), Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in 2017-2018; Governor of Indonesia to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors in 2011-2012; Indonesian Sherpa for the Nuclear Security Summit 2012 (2010-2011); President of the Inter-Government Committee (IGC) on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore, World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO); and a Member of the Indonesian Negotiators for the Aceh Peace Agreement in 2000-2005.
Ambassador Puja has been granted – among others – Ridder Grootkruis in de Orde van Oranje-Nassau/Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Orange – Nassau, The King of The Netherlands (June 2020); Ksatria Bakti Husada Arutala, Minister of Health (2011); Bintang Jasa Utama Award in 2010; and the Dharma Nusa Award in 2006.
Ambassador Puja is a graduate from Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and acquired his post-graduate at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (USA), The Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies. He is married, with 2 children.
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