11 Facts About Ali Alatas

Ali Alatas was an Indonesian diplomat of Ba 'Alawi sada descent, who served as the country's foreign minister from 1988 to 1999.

Ali Alatas joined the Indonesian foreign service in 1954 as a 22-year-old.

Ali Alatas was named Indonesia's ambassador to the UN, in Geneva from 1975 to 1978 and was ambassador to the UN in New York from 1982 to 1988.

Ali Alatas was Indonesia's Minister for Foreign Affairs from March 1988, serving three terms under the former Suharto administration and once under the Habibie administration in May 1998.

Ali Alatas advocated regional cooperation and played a crucial role in drafting the ASEAN Charter and the Constitution of the 10-member grouping the Eminent Persons Group.

Ali Alatas brokered peace negotiations in several hot spots in Southeast Asia.

Ali Alatas recounted his role in the diplomatic controversy over Indonesia's annexation of East Timor in 1975 and the events leading to independence in The pebble in the shoe: The diplomatic struggle for East Timor.

In 2003, Ali Alatas was appointed as the United Nations special envoy to Burma.

Ali Alatas arrived in Burma on 18 August 2005 for a three-day visit and sought the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Ali Alatas served as chairman of the Presidential Advisory Council in the Yudhoyono Administration.

On 11 December 2008, Ali Alatas died at 7.30am, at the age of 76 of a heart attack at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore, with his wife and his three daughters at his bedside.