Erywan bin Haji Mohd. Yusof is the incumbent 2nd Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brunei. He also served as

ASEAN The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its member states r ...

's first

special envoy Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

from August to December 2021 following the Myanmar coup d'état and the resulting

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

Education

Dato Erywan graduated from University College Swansea (now Swansea University) in 1991 with a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree in Genetics and its Applications.

Political career

Erywan was appointed deputy minister of foreign affairs in the 2015 cabinet reshuffle on 22 October, and subsequently appointed deputy chairman of the Brunei Strategy Council in November 2015 and of the Brunei Economic Development Board in 2016. Following a cabinet reshuffle on 30 January 2018, he was appointed as minister of foreign affairs II.

ASEAN Special Envoy to Myanmar

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. He had previously been instrumental in helping to draft the Five-Point Consensus (5PC) in April 2021, which was subsequently adopted by the ASEAN Leaders' meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia.

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...

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. However, 413 civil society organisations in Myanmar publicly criticized ASEAN's appointment of Dato Erywan for excluding the exiled

National Unity Government A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other na ...

(NUG), civil society, and pro-democracy forces such as the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) from the decision-making process. 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. On 4 October 2023, Yusof was denied by the military junta his request to meet with jailed leader

Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and political activist. She was awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. She served as State Counsellor of Myanmar and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Myanmar), Ministe ...

and other political prisoners, only allowing a meeting with former vice president Henry Van Thio and former assembly speaker T Khun Myat, both of whom were under house arrest at the time. Ten days later, he abruptly cancelled his visit to Myanmar.

Min Aung Hlaing Min Aung Hlaing (born 3 July 1956) is a Burmese army general who has ruled Myanmar as the chairman of the State Administration Council, chairman of the State Administration Council (SAC) since seizing power in the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, Fe ...

was ultimately barred from attending the summit on 26 October.

Hun Sen Samdech Hun Sen (; , Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ; born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military officer who currently serves as the List of presidents of the Senate (Cambodia), president of the Senate. He previous ...

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. Sokhonn succeeded Yusof as special envoy on 1 January 2022. Following another cabinet reshuffle in Brunei on 7 June 2022, Erywan retained his position as 2nd minister of foreign affairs.

Personal life

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

Honours

Throughout his career, he has earned the following honours:

National

* Order of Setia Negara Brunei First Class (PSNB) – ''Dato Seri Setia'' * Order of Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei First Class (SPMB; 15 July 2017) – ''Dato Seri Paduka'' * BRU_Order_of_the_Crown_of_Brunei

Order of Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei Second Class (DPMB; 15 July 2010) – ''Dato Paduka'' * Meritorious Service Medal (PJK) * Excellent Service Medal (PIKB)

Foreign

* : **

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

First Class (29 April 2023)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yusof, Erywan Living people Alumni of Swansea University Foreign ministers of Brunei Year of birth missing (living people)