Ong Keng Yong (born 6 January 1954) is a Singaporean diplomat who served as the 11th

secretary-general of ASEAN The secretary-general of ASEAN is the chief administrative officer of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The secretary-general must come from an ASEAN member state and will be appointed during the ASEAN Summit based on the alpha ...

between 2003 and 2007. He is currently the Executive Deputy Chairman of the

S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies The S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) is an autonomous graduate school in Singapore, and policy-oriented think tank within the Nanyang Technological University (NTU). Founded in 1996 as the Institute of Defence and Strategic S ...

at the

Nanyang Technological University The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a national research university in Singapore. It is the second oldest autonomous university in the country and is considered as one of the most prestigious universities in the world by various inte ...

Education

Ong graduated from the University of Singapore (now the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...

) in 1979 with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

with honours degree. He subsequently went on to complete a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in Arab studies at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Career

He joined the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

(MFA) in 1979 and went on diplomatic postings to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

(1984–1988),

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

(1989–1991) and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

(1991–1994). He was the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs between 1994 and 1996. From 1996 to 1998, he concurrently served as Singapore's High Commissioner to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and Singapore's Ambassador to

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

. He concurrently held three positions between 1998 and 2002: Press Secretary to

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Goh Chok Tong Goh Chok Tong (; born 20 May 1941) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1990 and 2004, and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party between 1992 and 2004. He was the Parliament of Singapore, ...

; Chief Executive Director of the

People's Association The People's Association (PA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) of the Government of Singapore that oversees neighbourhood grassroots communities and social organisations. Established in 1960, it wa ...

; and Deputy Secretary at the

Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts The Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI; ms, Kementerian Perhubungan dan Penerangan; zh, 通讯及新闻部; ta, தொடர்பு, தகவல் அமைச்சு) is a ministry of the Government of Singapore respo ...

. He served as Director of the Institute of Policy Studies at the

(NUS) between 2008 and 2011. From 2011 to 2014, he served as Singapore's High Commissioner to Malaysia. Since 2015, Ong has been concurrently serving as Singapore's Ambassador to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

—a role he served between 2009 and 2011, and Singapore's High Commissioner to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. He has also been serving as Chairman of the Singapore International Foundation since 2015. Ong is the chairperson of the Governing Board of the Human Rights Resource Centre at the

University of Indonesia The University of Indonesia ( id, Universitas Indonesia, abbreviated as UI) is a public university in Depok, West Java and Salemba, Jakarta, Indonesia. It is one of the oldest tertiary-level educational institutions in Indonesia (known as the Dut ...

. He is also a board member of the International Rice Research Institute Fund Singapore and The Asia Foundation Singapore. Ong is in the Global Council of the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

-based

Asia Society The Asia Society is a non-profit organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States (Manhattan, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco) and around the world (Hong Kong, Man ...

. Ong is also an Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2017, Ong criticised fellow diplomat

Kishore Mahbubani Kishore Mahbubani (born 24 October 1948) is a Singaporean diplomat and geopolitical consultant who served as Singapore Permanent Representative to the United Nations between 1984 and 1989, and again between 1998 and 2004, and President of the U ...

about his views that small states must always behave like small states. Warning that it is against Singapore's well-being if international relations are based purely on size, Ong posited that Singapore adopts a ''"friendly approach to states which want to be friendly with (Singapore)... (while remaining) particularly sensitive in managing foreign policy... But when necessary, Singapore has stood up to pressure from other states when its interests were at stake."''

Awards

Ong had received several awards throughout his career. He was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 1997, the Long Service Award in 2002 and the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: *Meritorious Civilian Service Award *Meritorious Service Med ...

in 2008 by the Singapore Government. He also received the Medal of Friendship from

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

in 2007, and the Medal of Sahametrei from

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

in 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ong, Keng Yong 1954 births Living people Singaporean diplomats Georgetown University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Singaporean people of Chinese descent Secretaries-General of ASEAN Ambassadors of Singapore to Iran Ambassadors of Singapore to Nepal High Commissioners of Singapore to India Recipients of the Royal Order of Sahametrei High Commissioners of Singapore to Pakistan