Ng Chee Khern (born 18 October 1965) is a Singaporean civil servant and former

major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

who served as Chief of Air Force between 2006 and 2009. He is currently serving as Permanent Secretary (Smart Nation and Digital Government) under the Prime Minister's Office, and Chairman of the Government Technology Agency.

Education

Ng is an alumnus of Victoria School and Hwa Chong Junior College, and was a recipient of the President's Scholarship and Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship in 1985. He graduated from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

with second upper class honours degree and 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 philosophy, politics and economics (PPE). He also completed a

Master of Public Administration The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...

degree at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

Military career

Ng enlisted in the

Singapore Armed Forces The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military services of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A military component of the Ministry of Defence (MINDE ...

(SAF) in 1984 and served in the

Republic of Singapore Air Force The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) is the aerial service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for controlling and defending the airspace of the country, and providing air support to the Army and Navy. It was establi ...

(RSAF). He flew the Northrop F-5E Tiger-II and the

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successf ...

Fighting Falcon. Throughout his military career, Ng held various appointments, including: Commanding Officer, 149 Squadron; Commander, Tengah Air Base; Director, Joint Operations and Planning Directorate; Chief of Staff (Air Staff). He succeeded

Lim Kim Choon Lim Kim Choon is a Singaporean civil servant and former major-general who served as Chief of Air Force between 2001 and 2006. After leaving the Air Force in 2006, Lim served as the chief executive officer and director-general of the Civil Av ...

as the Chief of Air Force on 24 March 2006 and relinquished this appointment to his second brother,

Ng Chee Meng Ng Chee Meng ( zh, s=黄志明, p=Huáng Zhìmíng; born 8 August 1968) is a Singaporean politician, union leader and former lieutenant-general who has been serving as Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress since 2018. A memb ...

, on 10 December 2009.

Civil Service career

After leaving the Air Force, Ng was appointed Director of the Security and Intelligence Division on 1 September 2010. He left the post on 1 May 2014, and served as Permanent Secretary (Defence Development) at the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

. He was also appointed Second Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health on 1 August 2014. Ng is also a member of the boards of various governmental organisations, including: Public Utilities Board (PUB); CapitaMall Trust Management; Chartered Ammunition Industries; ST Aerospace Systems; Changi International Airshow & Events; MDSO Supervisory Board; Construction Industry Development Board;

Defence Science and Technology Agency Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) is a statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Defence of the Government of Singapore The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore to mean the exec ...

; DSO National Laboratories;

Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) is Singapore's civil aviation authority and a statutory board under the Ministry of Transport of the Government of Singapore. Its head office is located on the fourth storey of Singapore Chang ...

Personal life

Ng has two younger brothers.

, a politician and former

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

who served as Chief of Air Force between 2009 and 2013, Chief of Defence Force between 2013 and 2015, and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC between 2015 and 2020.

Ng Chee Peng Ng Chee Peng is a Singaporean civil servant and former two-star rear-admiral who served as Chief of Navy between 2011 and 2014. Education Ng was awarded the President's Scholarship and Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship in 1989. He ...

, a former two-star

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

who served as Chief of Navy between 2011 and 2014.

Awards

National honours

* **

Pingat Pentadbiran Awam ribbon (from 1996)

Public Administration Medal (Gold), in 2016. ** Pingat_Pentadbiran_Awam_(Emas)_(Tentera)

Public Administration Medal (Gold) (Military), in 2005. ** Long_Service_Medal_(Military)_ribbon_(from_2006)

Long Service Medal (Military) The Long Service Medal (Military) is a Awards and decorations of the Singapore Armed Forces, decoration awarded to a member of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) (regardless of regular or NSmen status) who has completed 25 years of continuous servic ...

, in 2009.

Foreign honours

* **

United States

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight u ...

(Commander Degree) * ** Bintang_Swa_Bhuwana_Paksa_Utama_rib

Bintang Swa Bhuwana Paksa Utama (1st Class) * ** Order_of_the_Crown_of_Thailand_-_1st_Class_(Thailand)_ribbon

Order of the Crown of Thailand The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันมีเกียรติยศยิ่งมงกุฎไทย; ) is a Thai order, established in 1869 by King Rama ...

(1st Class) * ** Legion_Honneur_Commandeur_ribbon

Legion of Honour (Commander)

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ng, Chee Khern Living people Permanent secretaries of Singapore Singaporean people of Chinese descent Singaporean people of Teochew descent Chief of the Republic of Singapore Air Force Alumni of the University of Oxford Harvard Kennedy School alumni Victoria School, Singapore alumni President's Scholars 1965 births