The Asian Association for Public Administration (AAPA) was formally established in 2010 to expand and enhance research and academic exchange on public administration across the Asian region.
The groundwork for the AAPA was laid by the Asian Public Management Forum (APMF), a precursor group formed by a dedicated circle of Asian scholars. For a decade starting in 2001, the APMF held annual meetings that built the scholarly community necessary for a formal association. The inaugural APMF took place at the City University of Hong Kong, in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China, initiated by Professors Anthony Bing Leung Cheung (City University of Hong Kong), Akira Nakamura (Meiji University), Pan Suk Kim (Yonsei University), and Jon Quah (National University of Singapore). While the group initially convened to collaborate on a book, their shared vision for a regional network led to the decision to hold continuous annual meetings.
Following the three foundational meetings at the City University of Hong Kong (2001–2003), the APMF adopted a rotating host model to foster regional inclusivity, convening annual conferences in Tokyo (2004), Seoul (2005), Singapore (2006), Jakarta (2007), Bangkok (2008), and Puli (2009).
As the network grew, participants expressed a collective need for a permanent professional organization. During the 2009 APMF in Puli, leading scholars discussed the formalization of the forum. Subsequently, Professors Akira Nakamura, Anthony Bing Leung Cheung, and Pan Suk Kim held follow-up meetings to draft a charter and prepare the transition.
Professor Akira Nakamura was tasked with organizing the inaugural meeting and drafting the AAPA charter. On January 29-30, 2010, Meiji University in Tokyo hosted both the final APMF and the inaugural meeting of the AAPA. During this landmark event, participants approved the charter, officially making the birth of the AAPA as a membership-based organization.
Since its formal inception, the AAPA has maintained a consistent tradition of scholarly exchange through its annual conferences, hosted by leading academic institutions across the continent. Following the inaugural 2010 conference at Meiji University in Tokyo, Japan, the association’s reach expanded through successive meetings in Jakarta, Indonesia (2011), Hong Kong SAR of China (2012), Seoul, South Korea (2013), and Cebu, the Philippines (2014). The latter half of the decade saw the conference held in Xi’an, China (2015), followed by sessions in Chonburi Province, Thailand (2016), Astana, Kazakhstan (2017), Yogyakarta, Indonesia (2018), and Manila, the Philippines (2019). Despite the global challenges posed by the pandemic, the AAPA successfully transitioned to virtual formats for its 11th and 13th conferences, hosted by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China in 2020 and 2022, while holding its 12th session in Moscow, Russia in 2021. Recently, the association has returned to in-person gatherings, convening in Tokyo, Japan (2023) and Yogyakarta, Indonesia (2024), with the 16th annual conference taking place in Beijing, China in 2025.
The List of the Past and Current AAPA Presidents
The 1st President (2010, 2011; two-year term): Akira Nakamura, Former Vice President of Meiji University
The 2nd President (2012, 2013): President (2012): Anthony Bing Leung Cheung, Former President of Hong Kong Institute of Education (Resigned due to his new position in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government); Acting President (2013): Pan Suk Kim, Professor Emeritus of Public Administration, Yonsei University
The 3rd President (2014, 2015): Pan Suk Kim, Professor Emeritus of Public Administration, Yonsei University
The 4th President (2016, 2017): Pan Suk Kim, Professor Emeritus of Public Administration, Yonsei University
The 5th President (2018, 2019): Alex B. Brillantes Jr., Professor Emeritus of National College of Public Administration and Governance, University of the Philippines Diliman
The 6th President (2020, 2021): Jiannan Wu, Chair Professor and Dean of School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
The 7th President (2022, 2023): Jiannan Wu, Chair Professor and Dean of School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
The 8th President (2024, 2025): Agus Pramusinto, Professor of Department of Public Policy and Management, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada
The 9th President (2026, 2027): Xufeng Zhu, Professor and Dean of School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University
2001
The inaugural Asian Public Management Forum (APMF) was convened in the Hong Kong SAR of China, spearheaded by Professors Akira Nakamura, Anthony Bing Leung Cheung, Pan Suk Kim, and Jon Quah, alongside a group of distinguished scholars.
2001-2009
The annual conferences of the APMF were convened across various Asian locales, hosted by prominent academic institutions in Hong Kong SAR of China, Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, Jakarta, Bangkok, and Puli.
2009
During the Ninth APMF in Puli, participants reached a consensus to transition the platform into a permanent professional body. Consequently, Professor Akira Nakamura was entrusted with the responsibility of organizing the inaugural meeting and drafting a formal charter for the proposed Asian Association for Public Administration (AAPA), established as a membership-based organization.
2010
The formal establishment of the AAPA took place at Meiji University in Tokyo on January 29–30, 2010, held in conjunction with the final meeting of the APMF. During this landmark event, the association was officially inaugurated and its charter was ratified by the assembled participants.
At the last Asian Public Management Forum as well as the inaugural meeting of Asian Association for Public Administration held in Tokyo during 29-30 January 2010, AAPA was formally established and a charter approved by participants present.
