APRC - Key Persons
Dr. Sorajak Kasemsuvan Former Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Thailand A former Vice Foreign Minister of Thailand during H.E. Professor Dr. Surakiart Sathirathai's term as Foreign Minister. Readmore
H. E. Ambassador Virasakdi Futrakul Academic Adviser to Chairman of APRC Virasakdi Futrakul, a former career diplomat who joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand in 1974, had served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Thailand to various countries including the United States of America, Canada, the French Republic, the Union of Myanmar and Japan, which was his last posting before formally retiring in 2012. Before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Futrakul studied in the United States and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Washington and a Master of Arts in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. Furthermore, he also graduated from the National Defence College, Thailand in 2003. During his diplomatic career, Ambassador Futrakul was appointed as the Permanent Secretary, the highest civil servant status in Thailand, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition to bilateral postings, Ambassador Futrakul also served in several multilateral institutions. From 1999 to 2002, he was the Permanent Representative of Thailand to the United Nations Office and other international organisations in Geneva. While serving as the Ambassador in France, he also served as the Permanent Representative of Thailand to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and as a member of the Board of the Development Centre at the Organisation for Economic and Cooperation and Development (OECD). Apart from his diplomatic experience, Ambassador Futrakul served as a Director at the Board of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand. Ambassador Futrakul was awarded the Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand in 1998 and the Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant in 2003. In 2012, he was also awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun from Japan.
Ambassador Lawrence Markes is a recently retired New Zealand diplomat, currently residing in Bangkok with his wife and family. He spent forty years in the New Zealand public service working first for the Treasury and then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is a qualified economist. Since January 1990 he has held five Ambassadorial postings. First to the Islamic Republic of Iran, then from 1993-97 as New Zealand's Ambassador to Mexico. Following this he returned to Wellington for a period where he was responsible for overseeing New Zealand's Middle East relations. In 1999 he was appointed as New Zealand Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. From 2003 to 2007 he served as New Zealand High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, followed by his most recent posting to Rome as New Zealand Ambassador Italy and Permanent Representative to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and World Food Programme. During his career he also served at the UN in New York, in Rome and in New Delhi. He has been cross accredited as New Zealand's Ambassador to Turkey, Pakistan, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Kuwait, the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar, Croatia, Portugal, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Greece. He has also served as High Commissioner to Malta and to Cyprus. In 2008 Ambassador Markes was awarded the Order of Logohu (OL) by Her Majesty the Queen on behalf of the Government of PNG for services to the Bougainville peace and reconciliation process. He was also awarded the PNG Independence Medal. In November 2013 he accepted the informal position of Senior Research and Policy Advisor to the APRC.
Her Excellency Ms. Yoriko Kawaguchi Member of the House of Councillors and Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan A Japanese politician and diplomat, who served as the first woman who became Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan from 2002 to 2004. Readmore
His Excellency Dr. Aleksander Kwaśniewski Former President of Poland A Polish politician and journalist who served as the President of Poland from 1995 to 2005, Dr. Aleksander Kwaśniewski was also a co-founding member and first chairman of the Social Democratic Party of the Republic of Poland. Readmore
His Excellency Dr. Alfred Gusenbauer Former Chancellor of Austria An Austrian career politician who spent his entire professional life as a member of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) or as a Parliamentary Representative. He headed the SPÖ and served as Chancellor of Austria, then pursued a career as a consultant and lecturer, and as a member of supervisory boards of Austrian companies. Readmore
His Excellency Dr. Hassan Wirajuda Advisor to the President and Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia An Indonesian politician who was the Foreign Minister of Indonesia. He served during the presidencies of Megawati Sukarnoputri and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Readmore
Dr. Tej Bunnag obtained his Bachelor's degree in Exhibitioner (Hons) from King's College, Cambridge University, UK in 1965. He has been conferred his Master Degree from Cambridge University and Ph.D. from Oxford University, who then joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
His Excellency Jigme Yoser Thinley Former Prime Minister of Bhutan A Bhutanese national, Mr. Thinley was born on 9th September 1952. Aside from his native languages, he speaks English, Hindi and Nepali. Readmore
His Excellency Mr. José Manuel Ramos-Horta Former President of Timor-Leste The 4th President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, the Prime Minister, Minister of Defense between and Foreign Affairs Minister. He is also a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. Readmore
His Excellency Mr. Jusuf Kalla Vice President of Indonesia An Indonesian politician who was the 10th Vice President of Indonesia from 2004 to 2009 and Chairman of the Golkar Party during the same period. Readmore
His Excellency Mr. Karim Massimov Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Karim Kazhimkanovich Massimov was born on June 15, 1965. He graduated from the Beijing Language and Culture University, the Institute of International Law at Wuhan University in China, and the Kazakh State Academy of Management. He has also studied at Columbia University in New York. Mr. Massimov holds a doctorate of science in economics. Readmore
Job Titles:
- Member of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People 's Congress
His Excellency Mr. Li Zhaoxing Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of China A senior Chinese diplomat and an expert in international affairs, Li Zhaoxing is currently a member of the standing committee of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC), the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the NPC, a member of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Honorable President of the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs, and President of China Association for International Friendly Contact. Readmore
His Excellency Mr. Romano Prodi Former Prime Minister of Italy and Former President of the European Commission An Italian politician and statesmen, who served as Minister of Industry, Prime Minister of Italy and the 10th President of the European Commission. Romano Prodi holds a Law Degree from the Catholic University of Milan and advanced degrees in Industrial Economics from the universities of Milan, Bologna, and the London School of Economics. Readmore
His Excellency Mr. Shaukat Aziz Former Prime Minister of Pakistan His Excellency Mr. Shaukat Aziz was elected as Prime Minister of Pakistan and served from 2004 - 2007, following five years as Finance Minister from 1999. Readmore
His Excellency Mr. Weerasak Kowsurat Former Minister of Tourism and Sport of Thailand Weerasak Kowsurat, formerly served as Thailand Minister of Tourism and Sports, who later became Chairman of the Board of the Sports Authority of Thailand and also Chairman of the Board of the Tourism Authority of Thailand. His political experience includes Deputy Leader of Chartthai Political Party, Vice Minister for Culture and Vice Minister for Social Development and Human Security. He once served as Deputy Secretary-General to the Prime Minister in International Affairs. Readmore
His Excellency Mr. Yashwant Sinha Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of India A former Finance Minister of India, a Foreign Minister and a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, currently the largest opposition party in India. Readmore
Job Titles:
- Director of Peace Architecture and Conflict Transformation Alliance ( PACTA ), Finland
A Finnish businessman and researcher, mainly works in Aceh, Indonesia, as a General Manager of PACTA (Peace Architecture and Conflict Transformation Alliance), a non-governmental organisation focusing on the transformation of conflict into peace; committed to advancing international and national conflict resolution and reconciliation with a view to alleviate suffering, poverty and distress and building social cohesion and trust within and between communities.
Job Titles:
- Assistant to the Secretary - General Vice President, Eastern Asia University, Thailand
Mrs.Supakanya Chavanich Assistant to the Secretary-General Vice President, Eastern Asia University, Thailand A graduate of Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Mrs.Supakanya oversees policy and planning at the Easten Asia University.
His Excellency Mr. Ricardo Froilán Lagos Escobar Former President of Chile Known as Ricardo Lagos. Ricardo Lagos is a social democrat politician, lawyer and economist who served as Minister of Education, Minister of Public Works and President of Chile from 2000 to 2006. He received a degree in Law from the University of Chile and doctorate degree in Economics from Duke University in North Carolina (U.S.A.). Readmore
The Honourable Mr. Jose Isidro Camacho Former Secretary for Finance of the Philippines Having served in the cabinet of President Arroyo as Secretary of Energy and later Secretary of Finance, he is currently Vice Chairman of Credit Suisse, based in Singapore. Readmore