predecessor successor religion birth_place profession office term_start article_title term_end name alma_mater
rusli noor rodolfo severino jr. . sikhism malaysia diplomat 9th nations secretary general of the association of southeast asian 1 january 1993 ajit singh -lrb- malaysian diplomat -rrb-
 31 december 1997 ajit singh university of malaysia
ajit singh -lrb- malaysian diplomat -rrb-

ajit singh , a malaysian diplomat , was the secretary general of the association of southeast asian nations from 1993 to 1997 previously , he had served as malaysia 's ambassador to austria , brazil , germany and vietnam .
in a break with asean tradition , he ran for re-election to a second five-year term in 1997 , but was defeated by rodolfo c. severino of the philippines .
he graduated with a b.a. in history in 1963 from the university of malaysia .
