Secretary-General of ASEAN
Kao Kim Hourn
Kao survived the Khmer Rouge genocide and moved to the U.S. with his family at the age of 15. He returned to Cambodia in 1993 to run a think-tank dedicated to ASEAN and international affairs. He later joined the government of Cambodia, where he had served in a variety of posts, including secretary of state of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. He established the University of Cambodia in 2003 and continued to serve as the university president until he stepped down in October 2022.
He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, master’s degrees in political science and international studies from Ohio University and a bachelor’s in Asian studies from Baylor University.
Brunei
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah
Bolkiah, who was crowned 56 years ago, became the world’s longest-reigning living monarch upon the death of England’s Queen Elizabeth II in September last year after more than 70 years on the throne.
The 77-year-old also serves as prime minister, defense minister, finance and economy minister, and foreign minister of the nation, which was a protectorate of Britain before gaining independence in 1984.
After studying in his home country and Malaysia, Bolkiah received training as an officer at England’s Sandhurst military academy from 1966 to 1967.
In 1961, he was installed as the crown prince at the age of 15. Following the voluntary abdication of his late father Omar Ali Saifuddien, Bolkiah became the 29th sultan of Brunei in 1967.
Bolkiah enjoys polo, squash and badminton, and is a qualified aircraft and helicopter pilot. He has ranked high on lists of the world’s richest monarchs, with his fortune derived from Brunei’s oil and gas reserves. His nephew Faiq Bolkiah is a Brunei international soccer player who plays professionally in Thailand.
Cambodia
Prime Minister Hun Manet
Hun Manet, 46, took office in August following the nearly four-decade rule of his father Hun Sen, who was one of the world’s longest-serving leaders.
Before his nomination as candidate for prime minister from the ruling Cambodian People’s Party in 2021, Hun Manet had little political experience, having worked primarily in the military.
Born in 1977, Hun Manet joined the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces in 1995. He also graduated from the prestigious U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1999, becoming the first Cambodian to do so.
He earned a master’s degree from New York University in 2002 and then a doctorate from the University of Bristol in Britain in 2008, both in economics.
After returning to his home country, Hun Manet took up key military posts, including lieutenant general and commander of the Royal Cambodian Army. He was promoted to four-star general earlier this year.
Despite his rigid image as a military man, Hun Manet showed a human side during his election campaigns by posing for selfies with supporters. Hun Manet has a son and two daughters with wife, Pich Chanmony.
Indonesia
President Joko Widodo
Widodo, also known as “Jokowi,” is in his final year in office but still maintains broad popularity following his ascension a decade earlier as the first person to become Indonesian president with no military background nor ties to the political elite.
Born into the poor family of a carpenter in Solo, Central Java province, he studied forestry at university and ran a successful furniture exporting business.
After serving as mayor of Solo and governor of Jakarta, Widodo won the presidential election in 2014 and was re-elected in 2019 for another five-year term, backed by his populist appeal based on his humble roots and prioritization of infrastructure development.
With Indonesia’s prominence growing as an emerging and developing economy in the Global South, Widodo hosted the Group of 20 leading and developing nations summit in November last year and came away with a leaders’ declaration in difficult circumstances due to a rift over Russia’s war on Ukraine.
The 62-year-old’s presidency will end in October as the Constitution bans leaders from running for a third term.
Widodo enjoys riding motorcycles and listening to heavy metal music.
Japan
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
Kishida is eager to successfully host the Japan-ASEAN Commemorative Summit to celebrate 50 years of cooperation and friendship, seeking to outline Tokyo’s future direction in the regional bloc.
Kishida, who considers himself a key diplomatic figure on the world stage, has extensively interacted with ASEAN’s members, including trips to the Philippines and Malaysia in November.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker represents a constituency in Hiroshima. Dedicating his life’s work to pursuing denuclearization, Kishida, who took office in October 2021, hosted the Group of Seven Summit in Hiroshima in May.
Kishida served as foreign minister for more than four years from 2012 and played a role in realizing then-U.S. President Barack Obama’s historic visit to Hiroshima in 2016.
A graduate of Waseda University, the 66-year-old was a banker before being elected to the Diet in 1993. The third-generation politician is an avid fan of the Hiroshima Carp baseball team and has three sons with his wife, Yuko.
Laos
Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone
Sonexay became prime minister in December 2022 after his predecessor, Phankham Viphavanh, who stepped down due to health issues as the nation was emerging from the global economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sonexay was born in 1966 and is the son of former President Khamtay Siphandone, who played a significant role in the revolutionary era that led to the current socialist rule established in 1975.
After serving as the governor of the southwestern province of Champasak, near the borders with Thailand and Cambodia, Sonexay was appointed deputy prime minister in 2016.
He is also a politburo member of the ruling Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, now headed by President Thongloun Sisoulith.
Sonexay will assume the role of rotating chair of ASEAN in 2024, taking over from Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
The 57-year-old politician visited Tokyo in 2022 to attend the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was fatally shot at a political event earlier that year.
Malaysia
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar, 76, took power following a turbulent political career that included years of imprisonment.
Born into a political family, Anwar led an Islamic youth movement before joining the then-ruling United Malays National Organization in the early 1980s at the invitation of then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Anwar, seen as a potential successor to Mahathir, quickly ascended the political ladder, assuming significant posts, including deputy prime minister.
However, his relationship with Mahathir soured over the government’s response to the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, leading to his ouster and more than nine years of imprisonment over allegations of sodomy and corruption, which he, as well as various international human rights organizations, characterized as political conspiracies formulated to ruin his career.
While behind bars, Anwar became a symbol that united the opposition. He received a royal pardon after the 2018 general election ended the ruling coalition’s six decades in power.
He was appointed the nation’s 10th prime minister in November 2022.
He and his wife, also a former deputy prime minister, have six children. His fifth daughter’s husband is a Japanese national.
Myanmar
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing
Min Aung Hlaing, as commander in chief of Myanmar’s armed forces, seized power following a military coup in February 2021 that toppled the government of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The 67-year-old has served as prime minister of the caretaker government* since August 2021.
Born in Dawei in southern Myanmar and graduating from what is now the University of Yangon, Min Aung Hlaing took over the position of commander-in-chief in 2011 from Than Shwe, who had occupied the post for nearly two decades. Myanmar was at that time transitioning to democracy after decades of military rule.
Since the 2021 coup, the junta leader has not attended regular ASEAN summits.
Japan is known for having connections with both the Myanmar military and Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, with the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meeting Min Aung Hlaing in 2017 and 2019 in Japan.
*Japan is among the countries that do not recognize the Myanmar junta as a legitimate government.
The Philippines
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Marcos has served as president since June 2022, sealing his family’s return to power 36 years after his father’s rule ended in a 1986 revolution.
The 66-year-old, also known as “Bongbong,” has pursued closer ties with the United States, a long-standing treaty ally, in a shift from his pro-China predecessor Rodrigo Duterte.
In February, Marcos made his first visit to Japan since taking office.
He is the only son of the late former President Ferdinand Marcos and his wife, Imelda. The family fled to the United States to live in exile following the end of his father’s 21-year rule, including a period in which the Philippines adopted martial law. His father died in Hawaii in 1989.
The family returned to the Philippines in 1991. Marcos served as governor and senator before running for the highest office.
Until recently, Marcos served as secretary of agriculture in addition to holding the presidency.
He has visited Japan many times in a private capacity. He is a Beatles enthusiast and a basketball fan, and known to enjoy eating king crab.
Singapore
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
Lee has steered the city-state that developed into a global trade and financial hub under his late father and the country’s first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew since 2004.
He is only the third prime minister since Singapore’s independence from Britain in 1965, succeeding Goh Chok Tong, who was handpicked by the elder Lee and passed the baton to the younger Lee 14 years later.
Lee, 71, has accelerated the nation’s digital transformation. To attract foreign tourists, Singapore has legalized gambling, with Japan looking to the Southeast Asian nation’s success as it moves to build casino resorts of its own.
While maintaining close ties with China, Singapore has been a key U.S. security partner in Southeast Asia. Singapore is also the sole ASEAN member to have imposed economic sanctions on Russia following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Lee plans to step down and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong, next year.
Earning a diploma in computer science from the University of Cambridge, Lee’s hobbies include programming. In 2015, he used Facebook to post code he wrote to solve sudoku puzzles.
Thailand
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin
Srettha is a real estate tycoon who was elected in August. Domestic expectations are high that his business acumen will help drive Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy to further heights.
The Bangkok native studied at the University of Massachusetts and obtained a master’s degree in business administration from Claremont Graduate University in the United States. He worked in U.S. consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble Co.’s Thai unit for four years from 1986.
Srettha helped a family real estate business grow into one of the country’s leading property developers, named Sansiri Public Co. He served as president and CEO before being elected prime minister, representing the Pheu Thai Party, which formed a coalition government with 10 parties following a general election in May.
While having no experience in government, the 61-year-old is known for his close ties to former prime ministers Thaksin Shinawatra and Yingluck Shinawatra, with whom he maintained business connections. Srettha doubles as finance minister.
His wife is a physician, and they have three children. He loves soccer and is a supporter of English club Liverpool, according to local media reports.
Vietnam
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh
Chinh, 65, had a long career in the fields of intelligence and security before taking center stage in national politics in the socialist country.
Born in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa, he studied civil and industrial construction engineering. He served as an intelligence officer at the Ministry of Public Security for years and eventually became the head of the Party Central Committee’s Organization Commission in 2016.
In April 2021, Chinh was elected prime minister, one of the four top positions in the political hierarchy along with the ruling Communist Party general secretary, president of the state, and National Assembly chair.
Chinh was president of the Vietnam-Japan parliamentarian friendship group, having visited Japan multiple times and meeting with prime ministers.
As Japan seeks to forge closer ties with Vietnam, Chinh became the first foreign leader hosted by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida when the Japanese eaader took office in 2021.
Chinh also worked in the Vietnamese Embassy in Romania, where he spent time as a university student.
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