Surin studied at Thammasat University, Thailand, where he received his BA in political science. He graduated cum laude from Claremont Mens College, California, in political science in 1972. With the support of the Rockefeller Foundation, he went on to pursue his studies at Harvard University, receiving his MA in 1974. He spent one and a half years studying Arabic and doing research at the American University in Cairo, Egypt, from 1975 to 1977. From 1977 to 1980, he was a researcher for the Human Rights Studies Program, Thai Studies Institute, and the Ford Foundation at Thammasat University. He became a congressional fellow under the sponsorship of the American Political Science Association (APSA) from 1983-1984, working in the US capitol. During this period he taught international relations at the American University in Washington, D.C.. He returned to Harvard to complete his PhD in 1982. His dissertation was entitled, Islam and Malay Nationalism.

Surin Pitsuwan was elected member of parliament from Nakhon Si Thammarat for the first time in 1986 and became secretary to the Speaker of the House of Representatives the same year. In 1988, he was appointed assistant secretary to the Minister of Interior. From 1992 until 1995, he served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs before becoming Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1997, serving in this capacity until 2001. Surin Pitsuwan was chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum from 1999 until 2000.

Since 2003, he was a member of the board of trustees for The Asia Foundation.

On 18 June 2007, the Thai cabinet unanimously endorsed the recommendation of the Thai Foreign Ministry that Surin Pitsuwan be nominated as the Thai candidate for Secretary-General of ASEAN. He was confirmed by the ASEAN Foreign Ministers during their 40th annual meeting in Manila in July 2007 and succeeded Ong Keng Yong from Singapore on 1 January 2008. His term of office was five years. The Economist magazine, commenting that most secretaries-general are “usually a senior regional official rewarded with the post as the crowning boondoggle in a career of not rocking the boat”, states that Surin is different in that he seeks an activist role in member states. Surin Pitsuwan was the first ASEAN Secretary-General with significant political experience.

On 1 January 2013, he handed over his post to Le Luong Minh, the next ASEAN Secretary-General. On 17 January he announced that he would be ready to take over Thailand’s education ministry “if given the chance”.

Since October 2013, Surin served as on the board of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), a private diplomacy organization whose mission is to prevent armed violence through mediation and dialogue.

Surin died on 30 November 2017 of heart failure. He collapsed while preparing to address the Thailand Halal Assembly 2017 in Bangkok. He was 68.

Surin’s eldest son, Fuadi Pitsuwan, announced the formation of the Surin Pitsuwan Foundation in 2019. The foundation will focus on three areas: education, diplomacy, and human security. The foundation will provide scholarships to ASEAN students to study abroad, within and without the region, to spur ASEAN integration and encourage academic excellence. The foundation will fund diplomacy programs in interfaith dialogue and conflict resolution to further ASEAN integration. On human security, the foundation will assist in disaster relief and respond to development needs that will help secure the future of ASEAN’s citizens.