Country: Thailand

Areas of Expertise: Security, Diplomacy

Biographical information from Wikipedia

Biographical information from Commission on Human Security

Current Positions:

• Until the removal of Thaksin Shinawatra’s government in September 2006, Surin Pitsuwan was a Member of Parliament and Executive Member of Democratic Party.
• Member of the International Labor Organisation’s Commission on Human Security and World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization; Member of the Advisory Board of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty
• Member of the International Advisory Board of the Council on Foreign Relations
• Member of the International Advisory Board of the International Crisis Group (ICG)
• Member of the Board of Trustees of the Asia Foundation

Past Positions:

• Member of Parliament, 1986-2006 (7 consecutive terms)
• Executive Member of Democratic Party, Thailand (until 2006)
• Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thailand (1997-2001)
• Chairman of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum (1999-2000)
• Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister (1992-1995)
• Assistant Secretary to Minister of Interior (1988)
• Secretary to Speaker of the House of Representatives (1986)
• Professor, Thammasat University (1975-1986) and American University (1983-4); Researcher, Human Rights Studies Program, Thai Studies Institute, Ford Foundation (1977-1980); Scholar of the Institute of Higher Council for Islamic Affairs, Egypt (1975-1977)
• Columnist (Bangkok Post, Nation Review), Correspondent (ASEAN Forecast)
• Congressional Fellow: Offices of Representative to US Congress Geraldine Ferraro, Senate Republican Conference

Education:

• Graduated from Claremont Men’s College in Political Science
• M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University

Statements/Essays by Surin Pitsuwan

• Can Islam Have a Democratic Future? It Has a Glorious Past and Present – On Line Opinion, 6/18/03
• Speech by Surin Pitsuwan at the State of the World Forum (video), 9/4/00
• Speech by Surin Pitsuwan On the Occasion of the Inauguration Ceremony of the 1st Symposium on ASEAN-Andean Cooperation in the New Millennium, 5/8/00
• Statement by Surin Pitsuwan at the 32nd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, 7/23/99
• Remarks Surin Pitsuwan at the Ceremony on the Occasion of the Admission of Thailand as Permanent Observer to the Organization of American States, 12/9/98
• The Asian Crisis: Meeting the Challenges to Human Security, Speech by Surin Pitsuwan at the Intellectual Dialogue Meeting, 12/2/98

Articles on Surin Pitsuwan

• A “Moderate” Muslim for UN Secretary-General? - Frontpage Magazine, 10/03/06
• Surin Pitsuwan: Generosity, Less Military, Help From Southeast Asia Will Aid US-Muslim Relations – East-West Wire, 8/5/2002