She is a graduate of the University of Malaya with a B.A. (Hons) in English Literature. She received a Diploma in Public Administration from the National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN), Malaysia in 1981. She also has an M.S. (Counselling) from Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (now known as Universiti Putra Malaysia). After receiving her Ph.D from the University of Georgia in Athens, U.S.A.
Tan Sri Datuk Dr Rebecca Fatima Sta. Maria, began her career in the Malaysian Administrative and Diplomatic Service in 1981 and served in various capacities in the then Ministry of Trade and Industry. In the course of her civil service career, she had a brief stint as the Chief Administration and Procurement Officer of the ASEAN Plant Quarantine and Training Centre, and contributed to human capital development at the National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN). She retired as the Secretary-General of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry on 2 July 2016. As MITI Secretary-General, a post she held since December 2010, she provided oversight for the formulation and implementation of Malaysias international trade policies and positions. This involved Malaysia's participation in bilateral, regional (ASEAN, APEC, OIC) and multilateral (World Trade Organisation) fora. She was the ASEAN Chair for the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement, Chief Negotiator for the bilateral free trade agreements with India and Turkey. She also provided oversight for the TPP negotiations and other bilateral and regional FTAs, including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership between ASEAN and her six FTA partners. On the regional front, she had a key role in ASEAN economic integration and chaired the ASEAN Senior Economic Officials Meeting as well as the ASEAN High Level Task Force for Economic Integration. She is Senior Policy Fellow for the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). She serves on the Board of Trustees of MyKasih, an NGO that focuses on alleviating urban poverty; and Council Member of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS).
RHB Bank Berhad, Sunway Construction Group Berhad; and Hartalega Holdings Berhad
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