In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Yusof is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Erywan. The word "bin" or "binti"/"binte" means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.
Erywan was appointed the Deputy Minister of MFA in 2015, and subsequently appointed deputy chairman of the Brunei Strategy Council in November 2015 and of the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) in 2016.[2]
In April 2021, Dato Erywan was instrumental in helping to draft the Five Point Consensus (5PC) and was subsequently adopted by the ASEAN Leaders' Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia. 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.[1] U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres 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.[1] 413 civil society organisations in Myanmar publicly criticized ASEAN's appointment of Dato Erywan, for excluding the National Unity Government (NUG), civil society, and pro-democracy forces such as the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), as part of its decision-making process.[3][4]
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.[5] On 14 October 2023, Yusof abruptly cancelled a planned visit to Myanmar after no consensus among ASEAN Foreign Ministers on the proposed list of opposition stakeholders that Dato Erywan can meet, like former Vice President Henry Van Thio, in contravention of the five-point consensus agreed to by parties.[6]Min Aung Hlaing was ultimately barred from attending the summit.[7]Hun Sen 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.[8] Prak will succeed Yusof on 1 January 2022.[9]
Personal life
Dato Erywan is married to Pengiran Datin Hajah Salwana binti Pengiran Haji Ibrahim.[10]
Honours
Throughout his career, he has earned the following honours:[11]
1 Than Swe is currently recognized as Myanmar's official Foreign Minister by ASEAN, instead of Ko Ko Hlaing (despite the latter currently serving as Myanmar's Minister of International Cooperation).
_(cropped).jpg)
.png){kind=small}
.gif){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
