Erywan Yusof

Brunei politician

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Yusof is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Erywan. The word "bin" or "binti"/"binte" means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.

Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia

Erywan Yusof

PSNB SPMB PJK PIKB PKL

اريوان يوسف

Dato Erywan in 2018

2nd Minister of Foreign Affairs II

Incumbent

Assumed office
29 January 2018
Monarch| Hassanal Bolkiah
Preceded by| Lim Jock Seng
Personal details
Spouse| Pengiran Salwana
Alma mater| University College Swansea
Occupation| Diplomat
Signature|

Erywan bin Haji Mohd. Yusof is the incumbent 2nd Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brunei and ASEAN's special envoy to Myanmar.[1]

## Education

[edit]

Dato Erywan graduated from University College Swansea (now Swansea University) in 1991 with a Master of Science degree in Genetics and its Applications.[2]

## Political career

[edit]

Erywan was appointed the Deputy Minister of MFA in 2015, and subsequently appointed deputy chairman of the Brunei Strategy Council in November 2015 and of the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) in 2016.[2]

In April 2021, Dato Erywan was instrumental in helping to draft the Five Point Consensus (5PC) and was subsequently adopted by the ASEAN Leaders' Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia. On 4 August 2021, ASEAN Foreign Ministers selected Dato Erywan as the Special Envoy of the ASEAN Chair to Myanmar, to help mediate the country's crisis following the February 2021 Myanmar coup d'état.[1] U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed Dato Erywan’s appointment as a positive step towards promoting dialogue and consultation in view of Dato Erywan's extensive experience as a negotiator.[1] 413 civil society organisations in Myanmar publicly criticized ASEAN's appointment of Dato Erywan, for excluding the National Unity Government (NUG), civil society, and pro-democracy forces such as the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), as part of its decision-making process.[3][4]

On 6 October, Dato Erywan expressed serious concerns with the SAC's lack of progress in implementing the 5PC, signaling that ASEAN may not invite the SAC, to the ASEAN Summit later that month.[5] On 14 October 2023, Yusof abruptly cancelled a planned visit to Myanmar after no consensus among ASEAN Foreign Ministers on the proposed list of opposition stakeholders that Dato Erywan can meet, like former Vice President Henry Van Thio, in contravention of the five-point consensus agreed to by parties.[6] Min Aung Hlaing was ultimately barred from attending the summit.[7] Hun Sen signaled he may replace Yusof with Cambodia's incumbent foreign minister Prak Sokhonn, who has criticized the Burmese military regime, when Cambodia chairs ASEAN next year.[8] Prak will succeed Yusof on 1 January 2022.[9]

## Personal life

[edit]

Dato Erywan is married to Pengiran Datin Hajah Salwana binti Pengiran Haji Ibrahim.[10]

## Honours

[edit]

Throughout his career, he has earned the following honours:[11]

### National

[edit]

See also: Orders, decorations, and medals of Brunei

* Order of Setia Negara Brunei First Class (PSNB) – Dato Seri Setia[12]
* Order of Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei First Class (SPMB; 15 July 2017) – Dato Seri Paduka[13]
* Meritorious Service Medal (PJK)
* Excellent Service Medal (PIKB)

### Foreign

[edit]

* Japan:
* Order of the Rising Sun First Class (29 April 2023)[14][15]

## See also

[edit]

* List of current foreign ministers
* Cabinet of Brunei

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "ASEAN ministers pick Brunei diplomat as envoy to Myanmar". AP NEWS. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
2. ^ a b "Dato Erywan Pehin Yusof - Swansea University". Swansea University. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
3. ^ "Myanmar civil society groups reject regional envoy". Reuters. 6 August 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
4. ^ "Myanmar CSOs reject appointment of Brunei's Foreign Minister II as ASEAN's Special Envoy to Myanmar". Progressive Voice. 6 August 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
5. ^ Bandial, Ain (6 October 2021). "ASEAN discusses excluding Myanmar junta chief from summit -envoy". Reuters. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
6. ^ "Envoy aborts visit to Myanmar, straining ASEAN relations". AP NEWS. 14 October 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
7. ^ "Myanmar upset its military leader barred from regional meet". AP NEWS. 22 October 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
8. ^ Robinson, Gwen (1 November 2021). "Can ASEAN overcome the 'Myanmar curse'?". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
9. ^ "Cambodian foreign minister named ASEAN's new special envoy to Myanmar". Thai PBS World. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
10. ^ "Her Majesty Audience Ceremony". Radio Television Brunei. 12 December 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
11. ^ YANG DI-PERTUA DAN AHLI-AHLI MAJLIS MESYUARAT NEGARA
12. ^ "MALAYSIA HOSTS WORKING VISIT OF THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS II BRUNEI DARUSSALAM 20-22 APRIL 2022". kln.gov.my. 21 April 2022.
13. ^ Nooratini Haji Abas (17 July 2017). "Seramai 35 orang menerima Bintang Kebesaran NBD" (PDF). www.pelitabrunei.gov.bn (in Malay). p. 11. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
14. ^ "2023 Spring Conferment of Decorations on Foreign Nationals". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
15. ^ "Conferment Ceremony of "the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun" of the Japanese Government upon Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Haji Erywan bin Pehin Datu Pekerma Jaya Haji Mohd Yusof, Minister of Foreign Affairs II of Brunei Darussalam". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Retrieved 21 August 2023.

Political offices

Preceded by

Lim Jock Seng

|  2nd Minister of Foreign Affairs II
2015 – present  |  Succeeded by

Incumbent

* v
* t
* e

Cabinet of Brunei current members (2022–)

Prime Minister|

* Hassanal Bolkiah

Senior Minister|

* Al-Muhtadee Billah

Ministers|

* Pengiran Shamhary
* Nazmi Mohamad
* Abdul Manaf Metussin
* Romaizah Mohd Salleh
* Amin Liew Abdullah
* Juanda Abdul Rashid
* Isa Ibrahim
* Erywan Yusof
* Halbi Yussof
* Isham Jaafar
* Ahmaddin Abdul Rahman
* Badaruddin Othman

Deputy Ministers|

* Riza Yunos
* Sufian Sabtu
* Azmi Hanifah
* Matsatejo SokiawX
* Abdul RazakX
* Khairuddin Abdul Hamid
* Pengiran Zety Sufina
* Pengiran Mohammad Tashim

* v
* t
* e

Cabinet of Brunei 2018–2022

Prime Minister|

* Hassanal Bolkiah

Senior Minister|

* Al-Muhtadee Billah

Ministers|

* Isa Ibrahim
* Abdul Mokti
* Halbi Mohd Yussof
* Amin Liew Abdullah
* Erywan Yusof
* Abu Bakar Apong
* Badaruddin Othman
* Ali Apong
* Isham Jaafar
* Suhaimi Gafar
* Mat Suny
* Hamzah Sulaiman
* Abdul Mutalib
* Aminuddin Ihsan

Deputy Ministers|

* Matsatejo Sokiaw
* Romaizah Mohd Salleh
* Ahmaddin Abdul Rahman
* Abdul Manaf Metussin
* Marzuke Mohsin
* Elinda C.A. MohammadX
* Pengiran Bahrom

* v
* t
* e

Cabinet of Brunei 2015–2018

Prime Minister|

* Hassanal Bolkiah

Senior Minister|

* Al-Muhtadee Billah

Ministers|

* Abdul Rahman Ibrahim
* Ali Apong
* Abu Bakar Apong
* Badaruddin Othman
* Halbi Mohd Yussof
* Bahrin Abdullah
* Lim Jock Seng
* Yasmin Umar
* Mustappa Sirat
* Suyoi Osman
* Zulkarnain Hanafi

Deputy Ministers|

* Abdul Aziz
* Abdul Mokti
* Erywan Yusof
* Hamdan Abu Bakar
* Hisham Mohd Hanifah
* Amin Liew Abdullah
* Roselan Daud
* Pengiran Bahrom
* Suhaimi Gafar

* v
* t
* e

Cabinet of Brunei 2010–2015

Prime Minister|

* Hassanal Bolkiah

Senior Minister|

* Al-Muhtadee Billah

Ministers|

* Mohamed Bolkiah
* Abdul Rahman Ibrahim
* Abdullah Bakar
* Adanan Yusuf
* Abu Bakar Apong
* Badaruddin Othman
* Hazair Abdullah
* Lim Jock Seng
* Yasmin Umar
* Mohammad Abdul Rahman
* Suyoi Osman
* Yahya Bakar

Deputy Ministers|

* Abdul Wahab Juned
* Adina Othman
* Ali Apong
* Halbi Mohd Yussof
* Bahrin Abdullah
* Mustappa Sirat
* Pengiran Bahrom
* Yusoff Ismail

X: terminated

* v
* t
* e

Foreign ministers of ASEAN

* Bolkiah / Erywan
* Sok
* Marsudi
* Kommasith
* Mohamad
* Kyaw Tin1
* Manalo
* Balakrishnan
* Maris
* Sơn

1 Kyaw Tin is currently recognized as Myanmar's official Foreign Minister by ASEAN, instead of Ko Ko Hlaing (despite the latter currently serving as Myanmar's Minister of International Cooperation).

* v
* t
* e

Foreign ministers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

* Wong
* Bolkiah / Erywan
* Joly
* van Klaveren
* Wang
* Lin
* Marsudi
* Kamikawa
* Cho
* Mohamad
* Bárcena
* Peters
* Tkatchenko
* González-Olaechea [es]
* Manalo
* Lavrov
* Balakrishnan
* Maris
* Blinken
* Sơn

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