AWANG HAJI HAMZAH BIN HAJI SULAIMAN
PERMANENT SECRETARY
INTERNATIONAL, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT ECONOMY AND FINANCE
Haji Hamzah Haji Sulaiman was born on 7 September 1967. He joined the Civil Service as a Research Analyst at the Ministry of Defence after graduating in BA (Hons) Public Policy and Administration from Universiti Brunei Darussalam in 1991.
In 1993, he joined his alma mater as a Tutor and was appointed in 1995 as a Lecturer at the Department of Public Policy and Administration, Universiti Brunei Darussalam.
He headed the Department of Public Policy and Administration from 2001 until 2005. After that he became the inaugural Head of the Institute of Policy Studies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam from 2005 until 2007.
In 2007, he was moved back to the Ministry of Defence in a new capacity as the Director of Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies.
Four years later, he was appointed as a Senior Special Duty Officer at the Ministry of Finance in 2011 and as the Director of Research and International Division, at the same Ministry in 2012 where he was responsible for economic research and managing the international relations of Brunei Darussalam with various entities such as ASEAN, ASEAN + 3, APEC, IMF, World Bank, Islamic Development Bank and Asian Development Bank.
In 2013, he was appointed as Deputy Permanent Secretary (Defence Policy and Development) at the Ministry of Defence. He was appointed as Permanent Secretary (International, Economic, Finance, Research and Development) at Prime Minister’s Office in April 2014.
Haji Hamzah holds a Master in Political Science from State University of New York, Albany. His academic interests include among others the international relations and comparative politics of East Asia and also the defence and strategic issues of the Asia Pacific region.
He was bestowed ‘Pingat Indah Kerja Baik’ (PIKB) in 2005 and ‘Seri Mahkota Brunei’ (SMB) in 2010.
Haji Hamzah is married to Hajah Razina Haji Kassim and they are blessed with a daughter and two sons.
