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Dr Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria
Dr Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria
Executive Director, APEC Secretariat, Singapore
Tan Sri Datuk Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria is the executive director of the APEC Secretariat based in Singapore, which serves as advisory body, implementation arm and custodian of institutional memory for the 21 member economies that make up the APEC forum.
Dr Sta Maria was a top-level Malaysian civil servant and trade negotiator.
As Secretary-General of the Malaysian Ministry of International Trade and Industry from December 2010 to July 2016, she oversaw the formulation of Malaysia’s international trade policies and positions. She often took the lead in their implementation as chief negotiator for bilateral and regional free trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
Dr Sta Maria played an integral role in Malaysia’s participation in multilateral forums such as APEC, where she often represented her economy during the APEC Ministers’ Responsible for Trade Meetings and the Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meetings.
In the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Dr Sta Maria chaired the body that drafted the ASEAN Economic Community 2015 Blueprint as well as the ASEAN Economic Community 2025 Blueprint.
An accomplished academic and writer, Dr Sta Maria’s scholarship has been recognized through awards from the American Academy of Human Resource Development and from the University of Georgia. In 2017, she authored a book about her personal slice of Malaysian heritage and cuisine, called The Smell of Home.
Before 2010, the position of executive director of the APEC Secretariat rotated yearly among officials assigned by the incumbent host economy. Starting in 2010, the appointment was opened to applications from highly qualified professionals who will, when appointed, lead the Secretariat in fixed three-year terms with an option to renew.
Dr Sta Maria is the first woman executive director of the APEC Secretariat.
Short Version, for Audience Introductions
Dr Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria is the executive director of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, Secretariat based in Singapore where she advises and provides support for the forum’s 21 diverse member economies.
Styled “Tan Sri Datuk” in her native Malaysia, where she was a top-level civil servant and trade negotiator, Dr Sta Maria played an integral role in Malaysia’s participation in multilateral trade and cooperation. As Secretary-General of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry she often represented Malaysia in minister-level APEC meetings. She also oversaw the formulation of Malaysia’s positions in agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. And, as representative to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Dr Sta Maria chaired the body that drafted ASEAN’s economic community blueprints for 2015 and 2025.
Other Executive Directors
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Dr Alan Bollard
2013 - 2018 -
Ambassador Muhamad Noor Yacob
2010 - 2012 -
Ambassador Michael Tay
2009 -
Ambassador Juan Carlos Capunay
2008 -
Ambassador Colin S. Heseltine
2007 -
Ambassador Toan Trong Toan
2006 -
Ambassador Choi Seok Young
2005 -
Ambassador Mario Artaza
2004 -
Ambassador Piamsak Milintachinda
2003 -
Ambassador Alejandro de la Peña Navarrete
2002 -
Ambassador Zhang Yan
2001 -
Ambassador Serbini Ali
2000 -
Ambassador Timothy James Hannah
1999 -
Ambassador Dato' Noor Adlan
1998 -
Ambassador Jack A. Whittleton
1997 -
Ambassador Armando Q. Madamba
1996 -
Ambassador Shojiro Imanishi
1995 -
Ambassador Rusli Noor
1994 -
Ambassador William Bodde Jr.
1993