JAKARTA, 15 February 2021 – Today, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Political Security Community Robert Matheus Michael Tene and Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Community and Corporate Affairs Tran Duc Binh took office.
Following the oath-taking ceremonies led by Secretary-General of ASEAN Dato Lim Jock Hoi, Deputy Secretaries-General (DSG) Tene and Binh will each serve a three-year term from 2021 to 2024.
Prior to assuming his current position, DSG Tene was the DSG for Community and Corporate Affairs from 2019 to 2021. He previously served various roles at Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In his new post, he will support the Secretary-General (SG) of ASEAN in implementing the ASEAN Political Security Community Blueprint and strengthening relations with ASEAN Dialogue Partners and international community. DSG Tene holds an MA in Public Administration from the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo, Japan and a BA in Economics from University of Indonesia.
His successor, DSG Binh, will support the SG of ASEAN in providing strategic direction and guidance on research, corporate and public affairs as well as outreach activities. He will oversee the implementation of administration and general affairs, finance and budget, human resources, information technology, information resource management, community outreach, stakeholder engagements, protocol, conference and formalities, legal affairs, programme cooperation and project management, among others.
As an experienced diplomat, DSG Binh served numerous appointments at the Viet Nam Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prior to assuming the DSG post, he was based in Jakarta, Indonesia, as the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to ASEAN between 2018 to 2021. DSG Binh obtained his MA in International Affairs from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada and a BA in English Linguistics from Ha Noi University of Foreign Studies, in Viet Nam.
As stated in the ASEAN Charter, SG of ASEAN shall be assisted by four DSGs of different nationalities from the SG and shall come from four different ASEAN Member States. Two DSGs are nominated by the ASEAN Member States on a rotational basis for a non-renewable term of three years while two DSGs are openly-recruited based on merit for a three-year term which may be renewed for another three years.
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