H.E. Latifah Zaini has been appointed as the Permanent Representative of Brunei Darussalam to ASEAN since 28 February 2023. H.E. Latifah also serves as the Representative of Brunei Darussalam to the Governing Council of the ASEAN-IPR.
A career diplomat, H.E. Latifah joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2006. Before her Ambassadorial appointment, she was the Deputy-Director General of the ASEAN-Brunei Darussalam National Secretariat from July 2019. Her other assignments at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs include Minister Counsellor at the Department of Europe and Americas in 2015 – 2019 and Assistant Director at the Middle East Division in 2012 – 2014. She was posted as the Second Secretary at the Embassy of Brunei Darussalam in Arab Republic of Egypt in 2019 – 2012.
H.E. Latifah was awarded with the Excellent Civil Service Employee Award in 2014 and Pingat Indah Kerja Bakti in 2017.
H.E. Latifah graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Arabic Linguistics from Al-Azhar University, Arab Republic of Egypt. Aside from Malay language, she also speaks English and Arabic. She is married with two children.