The Secretary General shall be appointed by the President of AIPA with the approval of the General Assembly for a term of three (3) years on a rotational basis and in alphabetical order. In the event a Member Parliament is unable to nominate a candidate for the position of a Secretary General, the vacancy will be offered to the Member Parliament next in line.

The Secretary General shall domicile in the country where the Secretariat of AIPA is located.

In the event of an unexpected vacancy during the term of office of the Secretary General, the vacancy will be filled by a person nominated from the Member Parliament next in line for the position of the Secretary General.

The nomination shall be made within one month of the vacancy arising and the nominated person shall be appointed by the President of AIPA to be ratified at the next General Assembly.

• The Secretary General shall be the Head of the AIPA Secretariat and the Chief Executive Officer of AIPA. The Secretary General shall have the following functions and duties:
  be responsible to the President of AIPA;
• Take charge of the Secretariat and be responsible for the discharge of all functions and responsibilities entrusted to him by the General Assembly, the Executive Committee and AIPA committees;
• Assist the President of AIPA in managing the work of the Executive Committee and the General Assembly;
• Transmit all resolutions and decisions taken by the General Assembly for noting or implementation to the AIPA Member Parliaments;
• Represent AIPA as an observer in international parliamentary conferences;
• Fact as a channel of formal communication between AIPA and ASEAN and other international and regional organizations, governments and parliaments;
• Prepare the annual budget estimates of the secretariat, annual reports, including financial reports, and present the same for approval by the General Assembly through the Executive Committee;
• Manage the finances of AIPA, and be accountable for the usage of funds as approved by the General Assembly;
• Perform any other duties as directed by the President of AIPA, the Executive Committee and the General Assembly;
• Appoint the staff of the Secretariat of AIPA;
• Uphold the highest standards of integrity, efficiency and competence in the performance of his or her duties; and
• Not to seek or receive instructions from any government or external party outside of AIPA.

In the discharge of his or her functions, the Secretary General shall be guided by the Statutes of AIPA, the relevant decisions of the General Assembly, the Executive Committee and Committees of AIPA and all the rules and procedures laid down by the General Assembly.

Each AIPA Member Parliament undertakes to respect the exclusively AIPA character of responsibilities of the Secretary General and not to seek to influence him or her in the discharge of his responsibilities.

Source: AIPA Statute PART V Article 15