Dr Surin Pitsuwan
28 October 1949 – 30 November 2017
Words cannot express how sorry we are at the sudden passing of our dear friend, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, former ASEAN secretary-general and Thailand foreign minister. Dr Pitsuwan was a strong proponent of ASEAN, and believed in its important role of keeping peace in the region. He also wanted to see it succeed in its integration efforts to build an ASEAN community.
We’ve been privileged to have had several opportunities to work with a man who had genuine, heartfelt passion for ASEAN. Speaking at our workshop on the ASEAN Regional Mechanism on Human Rights in 2008, Dr Pitsuwan said, “I consider myself the cheerleader-in-chief of ASEAN. I think about it with full enthusiasm because I believe in ASEAN.” As an advocate for the establishment of the ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism, he also believed that the best of ASEAN would be reflected in the ways in which we give, and the human dignity of our people, regardless of their religion, race, economic and educational background. May his legacy continue to live on.
Photo: The late Dr Pitsuwan speaking at our first ASEAN & Asia Forum in 2007.
