Honorary graduates 2013-14

Ambassador Barry Desker (LLD)

Tuesday 16 July 11:45am

Barry Desker is the Dean of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) and has also been the Director of the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS) since October 2000. He is the inaugural Bakrie Professor of Southeast Asia Policy, a Member of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights and a Member of the Board of Directors of the Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship.

Ambassador Desker was appointed as Deputy Secretary in the Administrative Service in 1982. He served as Ambassador to Indonesia from 1986 to 1993 and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York from 1982 to 1984. From 1984 to 1986, he was the Director of the Policy, Planning and Analysis Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was also the Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore Trade Development Board from 1994 to 2000.He was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Gold) in 1992.

He is currently the Chairman of Singapore Technologies Marine and has been the Non-Resident Ambassador of Singapore to the Holy See and Spain since 2007.

A President’s Scholar, Ambassador Desker graduated with a BA (First Class Honours in History) from the University of Singapore in 1970 and obtained an MA degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London in 1973 on a Ford Foundation Fellowship. He was a Ford Foundation Fellow at Cornell University from 1973 to 1974 and was awarded a honorary LLD by Warwick University in 2012.