Speakers’ Profile

Hon. Franklin M. Drilon is President of the Philippine Senate. His first stint in government service was in 1986 when then President Corazon Aquino appointed him to become Deputy Minister of Labor. A few months later he rose to become Secretary (Minister) of the Department of Labor and Employment. Drilon was the appointed Secretary (Minister) of the Department of Justice in 1990, also during the Aquino presidency. In 1991, he was appointed Executive Secretary (Minister) of the Office of the President. During the term of President Fidel V. Ramos, he was reappointed as Secretary (Minister) of Justice. He was drafted in the 1995 senatorial elections, placing fourth in his first attempt at national politics. At the start of the second half of his six-year term, Drilon assumed the post of Senate Majority Leader and subsequently the Presidency of the Philippine Senate. Senate President Drilon became Chairman of the Liberal Party in 2004 and currently serves as the Party President.  He is currently the Chairman of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats. In 2005, Senate President Drilon was elected Chairman of the 112th General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the international organization of the parliaments of sovereign states. He finished his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and his Bachelor of Laws at University of the Philippines.  

Hon. Sam Rainsy, MP, is the President of the Sam Rainsy Party and Leader of the National Opposition of Cambodia. Mr. Sam trained in business and economics and with extensive experience in investment banking, was a founding member of the FUNCINPEC party. He became Minister of Finance in the coalition government that emerged in Cambodia after the UN-supervised elections in 1993. He was a Member of the Supreme National Council of Cambodia from 1992 to 1993. His high profile views on corruption, however, led to his dismissal from that post in October 1994. In 1995, he formed the Khmer Nation Party, which was forced in early 1998 to change its name to the Sam Rainsy Party in order to contest the 1998 elections where he was re-elected to Parliament. In the recent elections of July 2003, the Sam Rainsy Party garnered the second largest number of votes. The Sam Rainsy Party became a member of CALD in 1999 and MP Sam Rainsy served as Chairman of CALD from 2000 to 2002. Prior to his entry to politics he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DR Gestion, a Paris-based investment company and Bank Director at Paluel-Marmont, a French bank that specialized in financial research and stock investment. He was a financial analyst and investment manager with various banks and financial institutions in Paris, including Manufacturers Hanover and Paribas. Mr. Sam received his MBA from INSEAD ; Diplôme d'Etudes Comptables Supérieures from the French Ministry of Education; Maîtrise + Diplôme d'Etudes Supérieures de Sciences Economiques de la Faculté de Droit et des Sciences Economiques de Paris and Diplôme de l'Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris.

The Lord Alderdice is the President of Liberal International. Born in Northern Ireland, John Alderdice qualified in medicine at Queen's University, Belfast and specialised in psychiatry becoming a Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He joined the Alliance Party in 1978 and was its elected Leader from 1987 to 1998. Elected to Belfast City Council and to the Northern Ireland Forum he became a key participant in the Northern Ireland Peace Process and a negotiator of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. He was subsequently elected a member of the new Northern Ireland Assembly in June 1998, but surprised the political world when he decided to stand down as Alliance Leader after 11 years in the position, and was immediately appointed Speaker of the Assembly, a post he held until retiring in February 2004. In 2003 he was appointed to serve in the four-person Independent Monitoring Commission charged by the British and Irish Governments with monitoring paramilitary activities and security normalization in Northern Ireland. He was Treasurer and then Vice-President of the European Liberal Democrats Reform Party (ELDR) between 1995 and 2003. Lord Alderdice was raised to the Peerage of Baron Alderdice of Knock in 1996 and took his seat in the House of Lords that year, being one of the youngest ever life Peers.

Mr. Jasper Veen is Secretary General of Liberal International. He is responsible for the conceptual and strategic development of political initiatives and programs of the Liberal International. Prior to his assumption to his current post in LI, he served as Political Advisor (2002-2005) and Human Rights Officer (2000-2002). Mr. Veen was also engaged as Project Officer of the Liberal Democrats UK (2001), responsible for the organization of an African Liberal Leaders Meeting as well as responsible for a Summer School for African liberal parties on election campaigning in Mombassa, Kenya. Prior to his current stint in London, he was the International Officer of Democraten 66 of the Netherlands. He is an active member of Democraten 66 in the Netherlands, the Chatham House - Royal Institute for International Affairs, UK and the National Liberal Club, UK. Mr. Veen received his Master of Science (MSc) in Political History from the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Mr. Manfred Richter is the Treasurer of the Board of the Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation in Germany. He entered Government service as an elected Member of the Bremen State Legislature and was later elected as Member of the National Parliament from 1987-1994. As a Member of the FDP Parliamentary Group he was elected Chief Whip of the Party. From 1995 to 1999 he was elected to serve as the Lord Mayor of the City of Bremerhaven. He was also elected as President of the German Group of Liberal International from 2002-2004 and Vice President of Liberal International from 2003-2005.Mr. Richter is a recipient of the Officer's Cross of the Order Ouissam Allaouite of Morocco and the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merits of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Mr. Andreas Proksch is currently the Director of the Strategic Corporate Development Department of GTZ Germany since 2001.  He has served GTZ in various capacities including, Director, GTZ-Office Hanoi / Vietnam (1999-2001); Director, GTZ-Office Quito, Ecuador/ Chief Technical Advisor of “Programa de Fortalecimiento Municipal” Urban Strengthening Programme (1996 – 1998); and Chief Technical Advisor of "Urban Development through Local Efforts Project" (UDLE) of GTZ, an urban development project covering all 36 municipalities in Nepal (1991-1995). Prior to joining GTZ he was a senior official of the Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation. He has served the foundation as Personal Assistant to the Secretary General of Friedrich Naumann Foun­da­tion in Bonn, Germany (1990-1991); FNF Country Director to Pakistan and Nepal; Director of Division for Eastern and Southern Africa (1982-1984) and Director of Division for Northern and Western Africa (1980-1982).  He also had a stint with several short-term consultancy and training assignments in South and Southeast Asia as well as Africa on urban management, evaluation/ project reviews of urban projects, municipal finance system, micro- and macro planning, objective oriented project planning, training for development plan­ners, local government system and decentralization. He received his Diploma in Social Economics (equivalent to M.A) from the University of Göttingen and pursued a Post-graduate Course at the German Development Institute, Berlin

Mr. Geert H.P.B. van der Linden is Vice President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development.  He assumed this position in September 2003. ADB’s Regional and Sustainable Development Department, Economics and Research Department, and the Office of External Relations come under his responsibility. Previously, he was Special Advisor to the President, developing ADB’s role in the areas of knowledge management, policy, and strategy.  He also headed ADB’s response team to the region’s Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak.  In 2002, Mr. Van der Linden was Director General of ADB’s East and Central Asia Department covering Azerbaijan; People’s Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyz Republic; Republic of Korea; Mongolia; Tajikistan; Taipei, China; Turkmenistan; and Uzbekistan. He managed the operations of the five divisions in the East and Central Asia Department—operations coordination; infrastructure; agriculture, environment, and natural resources; social sectors; and governance, finance, and trade. He was also responsible for the ADB’s resident missions in People’s Republic of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan, as well as liaison offices in Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. In 2001, he chaired the Working Group that prepared for a reorganization of ADB operations.  A Dutch national, Mr. van der Linden, served as junior professional officer to the United Nations Development Programme in Manila (1977-1978) and staff member of the regional planning agency of the Dutch Government (1972-1976). Mr. van der Linden holds a Masters degree in Economics from the Erasmus University in 1972. He participated in the Executive Development Program of the Harvard Business School in 1997.

Mr. Karl Ziegler, a London-based American graduate of Andover, Yale and the Harvard Business School, has had extensive experience in working on programmes to make governments more accountable to the donor community and to their citizens.  In 1991, after 17 years in commercial and investment banking, with a focus on emerging economies, he founded The Centre for Accountability and Debt Relief. Founder and Director of this often quoted development focused “think tank”.  Has written extensively on issues of good governance as a pre-requisite for effective long-term debt forgiveness.  Advised President Museveni of Uganda on a successful campaign to receive the first ever IMF/World Bank debt relief, in exchange for ongoing, closely monitored accountability and transparency. In 1993, he was a founding Director of Transparency International (United Kingdom) and in 1996 founded The Kinnerton Research Centre, dedicated to research on corruption issues in Eastern Europe. His case studies and proposals to both governments and international financial institutions will be of interest to conference attendees.

H.E. Dr. Friedrich Hamburger is the Head of Delegation of the European Commission to Thailand, Cambodia, the Lao PDR and the Union of Myanmar with the rank and courtesy title of Ambassador. Prior to his current posting abroad he was the Chief of Staff of the Office of the European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid. He served the European Commission in various directorial posts. Previously Dr. Hamburger served the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Austria, his last post being the Chief of Staff of the Federal Vice Chancellor of Austria with the rank of Ambassador. Dr. Hamburger received his Doctor of Laws from the University of Vienna in Austria and a Diploma in International Affairs from the Vienna Diplomatic Academy.

Mr. Chou Yen-shin is the Director for Policy and Planning of the International Cooperation and Development Fund – Taiwan. Previously he was the Secretary to the Premier of Taiwan and Secretary to the Secretary General of the Office of the President of Taiwan. Prior to his entry to government service he served as the acting Deputy Director of the International Affairs Department of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Mr. Chou received his MA in International Relations from the Ohio University, USA and his AB in Economics from the Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan.

Mr. Rolando G. Tungpalan currently serves as Assistant Director-General for Investment Programming of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).  A graduate of the University of the Philippines (Diliman) with a degree in Economics, Assistant Director-General Tungpalan has held various positions in NEDA including that as Director of the Project Monitoring Staff and Director of the Public Investment Staff. Mr. Tungpalan initiated the now-mandated (by the NEDA Board and Congress) Annual ODA Portfolio Review, a comprehensive assessment of performance of the ongoing programs and projects supported by Official Development Assistance (ODA).  He introduced and caused the institutional use of results monitoring and evaluation of development programs and projects which focuses on development outcome and impact.  He chairs the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) - Technical Board of the NEDA Board, an interagency committee responsible for approving public sector (and public-private sector) investments.  He oversees the formulation and updating of the Medium-Term Public Investment Program (MTPIP), coordinates the investment programming of major development projects, the mobilization of Official Development Assistance, and the conduct of the Effectiveness and Efficiency Review (EER), a system for establishing and updating Government’s strategic priorities over the medium term. ADG Tungpalan serves as NEDA representative in the Executive Committee of the Development Budget Coordinating Committee, serves as Chair of the Infrastructure Committee-Technical Board, sits in the governing boards of some government-owned and controlled corporations/interagency bodies. ADG Tungpalan serves as focal person in NEDA for overseeing (with the Department of Finance) the implementation of the Paris Declaration on Harmonization, Alignment, and Development Effectiveness, having participated in the high level forum in Rome (2001), Marrakech (2003), and Paris (2005).

Dr. Arianto Patunru is the Deputy Director and Assistant Professor of the Institute for Economic and Social Research of the Department of Economics of the University of Indonesia. He received his Ph.D. in Natural Resources, Environmental Economics and Econometrics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his Master of Science in Policy Economics and International Economics from the same university. He has a vast experience in the study of economics, natural resources economics, public policy and econometrics.

Dr. Pia Oberoi is a Project Coordinator of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA).  Prior to her current work she was a former officer of Amnesty International in Geneva. She finished her PhD at the St. Antony's College, Oxford University, UK.

Mr. Kavi Chongkittavorn is Assistant Group Editor of Multimedia Nation Group. He has been a journalist for more than two decades with the Nation. After serving as diplomatic correspondent and regional editor, he was sent to Cambodia to open the Phnom Penh bureau in 1987 and Hanoi in 1990, where he stayed until 1993. From 1994-96, he served as a Special Assistant to the Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). He was a Reuter Fellow at Oxford University in 1993 and Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 2000. He was named the Human Rights Journalist of 1998 by Amnesty International Thailand to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR).  From 1998-2001, he served as President of the Thai Journalists Association. He is the Chairman of Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) since 1998.

Mr. Luky Djunjardi Djani is the Vice Coordinator of the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) Working Committee.  He coordinates ICW’s advocacy program on public sector reform, focusing specifically on improving public services. He also oversees ICW’s efforts to monitor foreign aid programs and the judicial system. Previously, Mr. Djani was program coordinator of the Indonesian Rectors Forum responsible for coordinating a monitoring program on East Timor’s popular consultation ballot process. He is a member of various coalitions, including the Electoral Reform, Right to Information, Participatory Policy-making, and Election Commission Watch. Djani received his BS in Geodetic Engineering in Indonesia and graduated from the Public Policy Program of the National University of Singapore.

Ms. Charmaine Rodrigues, is Project Coordinator, Right to Information Programme, International, which is responsible for the expansion of the programme throughout the Commonwealth. She is a qualified lawyer who has practiced both corporate and public interest law. Originally an Australian, she is currently completing a Masters in International Development and her thesis is focused on disclosure policies of multilateral development banks. She was a Programme Officer of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). Her present work involves heading the Commonwealth-wide promotion of the right to information.

Hon. Ignasi Guardans Cambó has been a Member of the European Parliament for Convergència i Unió (CiU) since 2004 and a member of the ALDE group (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) in the European Parliament. In 1995 he was the External Advisor of the Grup Parlamentari Català (Catalan Parliamentary Group). He won a seat to the Spanish Chamber of Deputies under the Convergència i Unió in 1996 and served until 2004. In 1999 he joined the Assembly of the Council of Europe. Currently Mr. Guardans is the Vice-President of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and member of the Committees on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, and on Culture and Education of the European Parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg. Mr. Guardans was a lecturer at the Universitat de Barcelona and the C.E.S. Abat Oliva. He finished his law studies at the Universidad de Navarra.

Hon. Eva Kusuma Sundari is a Member of the Indonesian Parliament from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP). Previously she was a Program Officer and Consultant for the Asia Foundation in Jakarta. She also served as the Asia Foundation’s Manager of Program of the Women and Decentralization and Counter Trafficking Program. She received her Master of Science in Economics and Development Economics from the Faculty of Economics of the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom and her MA in Politics of Alternative Development Strategy, Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, Netherlands.

Hon. Son Chhay is a Member of Parliament representing Siem Reap province in Cambodia. He is currently the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, International Cooperation, Propaganda and Information of the National Assembly of the Cambodia. Previously he served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Public Works, Transport, Telecommunications, Post, Industry, Energy, Mines, and Commerce and Secretary of the Committee on Education, Culture, Tourism, and Religious Affairs.  He is a member of the Sam Rainsy Party and is actively involved in promoting democracy, human rights, equal opportunity, and good governance.  Mr. Son is also an Executive Member of Global Network for Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) and a founding member of the Coalition for Transparency Cambodia.  He received his Bachelor’s Degree in mathematical science from Flinders University and his diploma in education from Adelaide University in Australia.  He also completed a course in business management at TAFE College in Australia.  He is a member of the executive committee of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats.

Hon. Dr. J.R. Nereus Acosta, Member of Parliament from the Philippines is the current Secretary General of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats and Secretary General of the Liberal Party of the Philippines. He is a third term representative of Bukidnon province in Northern Mindanao to the House of Representatives. He is the principal author of the groundbreaking Clean Air Act that has become a model of environmental legislation in Asia. Dr. Acosta recently served as Chairman of the Committee on Ecology and Vice-Chairman of the Committees on Science and Technology, Human Rights, and Foreign Relations of the House of Representatives. He has represented the Philippines in numerous international forums, including the United Nations Special Assembly on HIV/AIDS and the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development, where he now serves as the Deputy Secretary General. An academic and civil society stalwart, he earned his PhD in Political Science from the University of Hawaii as an East West Center Scholar. He received his MA in Public Affairs (International Relations and Political Studies concentration) from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania and attended the special courses on Leaders in Development Program, June 1999 and Environmental Economics, May 2002 at the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University. In 2004 he was awarded the prestigious World Fellows Program of Yale University.

Professor Ryokichi Hirono, M.A. in Economics, did postgraduate studies at the University of Chicago, U.S.A. He currently holds teaching positions as Professor, Graduate School of International Studies, Teikyo University / Visiting Professor, Graduate Institute of Policy Studies/ Adjunct Professor, Management Academy, Ulaanbaatar/ Visiting Professor, Graduate School of Foreign Language and Studies, Sophia University and External Cooperating Fellow, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University. He serves on government advisory committees in the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as on the board of directors of a number of non-government organizations including foundations. Included among others are: the Japan Society for International Development, the Institute for Global Environment Strategies, Global Environment Foundation, Asia-Pacific Research Council, Japan-ASEAN Association and International Management Association of Japan, etc. He is currently the Vice President of the Japan Evaluation Society. Overseas, Professor Hirono served as the Chairman of the Committee for Development Policy of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and Assistant Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in New York. He is also a Member of the International Advisory Board of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies and the African Institute for Development and Strategic Studies, Ibadan, Nigeria.

Session Chairs

Hon. Saumura Tioulong is a Member of Parliament of Cambodia. She obtained her MBA from INSEAD. She later started her successful business career in Paris. From 1993 to 1995, she became the Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia.

Dr. Buranaj Smutharaks is Deputy Spokesman and was recently a Member of Parliament of the Kingdom of Thailand under the Democrat Party. He was Secretary and Senior Policy Advisor to former Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai. He graduated from the Chulalongkorn University Medical School and received his two MA degrees in Public Health and Health Policy and Management at Harvard University, USA.

Hon. Yong Dai Ying is a Member of the State Legislative Council of Malaysia. Ms. Yong is an elected Member of the Central Committee of the Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (PGRM) and previously served as Deputy Speaker of the Party. She has held various post under the Women’s Group of PGRM including Treasurer and Vice Chairperson of the International Committee. Currently she is the Deputy Chairperson of the Women’s wing.

Hon. Martin Chu-Ming Lee, Q.C., S.C., Legislative Councillor of Hong Kong is the Founding Chairman (1994-2002) of the Democratic Party in Hong Kong. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1979, was first elected to the Legislative Council in 1985 and has been re-elected in every election since. Prior to the founding of the Democratic Party in October 1994, Mr. Lee was Chairman of the United Democrats of Hong Kong - Hong Kong's first political party - which won the first-ever democratic elections to the territory's Legislative Council in 1991. Since then, the Democratic Party has won every set of elections held in Hong Kong and has received wide public support for its stance that Hong Kong must develop democratic institutions and preserve freedom, human rights and the rule of law if the territory is to continue to prosper as part of China. Mr. Lee was honored in November 2004 by Rutgers College with the Brennan Human Rights Award.  The European People's Party and European Democrats in the European Parliament named Mr. Lee the first non-European recipient of the Schuman Medal in January 2000.  Mr. Lee was honored, in the same month, by the University of Toronto as Goodman Fellow.  The Claremont Institute in Los Angeles gave its Statesmanship Award to Mr. Lee in 1998.  In 1997, the National Endowment for Democracy presented Mr. Lee its Democracy Award at a Capitol Hill ceremony.  In the same year, Mr. Lee was awarded honorary Doctor of Laws degrees by Amherst and Holy Cross Colleges.  In 1996, Liberal International - representing 70 political parties worldwide - awarded Mr. Lee the Prize for Freedom at the World Council of Liberals meeting.  In 1995, the 350,000-member American Bar Association awarded Mr. Lee its 1995 International Human Rights Award "in recognition of extraordinary contributions to human rights, the rule of law and the promotion of justice." He obtained his BA degree at the University of Hong Kong and studied law at Lincoln’s Inn in London. Mr. Lee is CALD’s first and only Individual Member.

Mr. Nyo Ohn Myint is the International Coordinator of the Global Burma Campaign of the National League for Democracy (Liberated Area) - National Council of the Union of Burma. NLD is the political party of Nobel Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi where she serves as the Secretary General. Nyo Ohn Myint started working for NLD as a political coordinator at the NLD headquarters in 1988 and co-founded the NLD youth wing and became a central youth leader and later promoted to the NLD central committee. After he fled to the Thai-Burmese border in 1989, he worked as a liaison officer between NLD and Democratic Alliance of Burma from 1989 to 1991 and attended the DAB conferences and federal study tour to Germany. In the U.S. he was the coordinator of the NLD/LA foreign affairs committee. He is the representative the NLD LA foreign affairs committee to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of the Union of Burma. He received his AB from Rangoon University in 1984 with a Major in World History. He was a visiting scholar at the Harvard Institute for International Development, Harvard University from 1995-1996 and earned his second AB degree on Asian Studies and Economics at the University of Texas in 1997.     

Dr. Rajiva Wijesinha is the President of the Liberal Party of Sri Lanka and Professor of Languages at the University of Sabaragamuwa. He received his PhD at Oxford University, UK. He has authored several books—both fiction and non-fiction—and his works have been translated into several languages. He is also a consultant of the Ministry of Education.