Ong Keng Yong

Ong Keng Yong PBS
Ong at Halifax International Security Forum 2017
11th Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
In office January 1, 2003 – December 31, 2007
Preceded by	Rodolfo Severino Jr.
Succeeded by	Surin Pitsuwan
Spokesperson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Singapore)
In office 1996–1998
High Commissioner to India, Republic of Singapore
In office 1998–1995
High Commissioner to Malaysia, Republic of Singapore
In office July 2011 – November 2014
Non-Resident Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Iran
In office February 2009 – July 2011
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2015
Personal details
Born	(1955-01-06) January 6, 1955 Singapore
Alma mater	University of Singapore Georgetown University
Profession	Diplomat

Ong Keng Yong (Chinese: 王景荣; pinyin: Wáng Jǐngróng, born 6 January 1955) is a Singaporean diplomat. He served as the Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) from 2003 to 2007,^[1] and was Singapore's High Commissioner to Malaysia until 2014. Thereafter, he took over from Ambassador Barry Desker and assumed the position of 'Executive Deputy Chairman' of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.^[2]

Ong was educated at the University of Singapore, graduating with an LLB (Honours) and then at Georgetown University in Washington DC, United States, where he received a Master of Arts in Arab Studies. He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore in June 1979. He has been on diplomatic postings to Saudi Arabia (1984–1988), Malaysia (1989–1991) and the United States of America (1991–1994). From 1994 to 1996, he was spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1996 to 1998, he was High Commissioner of Singapore to India and concurrently Ambassador to Nepal. From 1998 to 2002, he worked as the Press Secretary^[3] to the then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, leaving that job in 2002. From 1999 to 2002, Ong was concurrently Chief Executive Director of the People's Association in Singapore, as well as Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts. From July 2011 to November 2014, he was appointed as High Commissioner of Singapore to Malaysia.^[4] Since January 2015, he was appointed Singapore’s Non-Resident Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Iran after previously serving in the same capacity from February 2009 to July 2011.^[5]

Ong is the Chairperson of the Governing Board of the Human Rights Resource Centre, based at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta. He is also a Board Member of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Fund Singapore and The Asia Foundation Singapore. Ong is in the Global Council of the New York-based Asia Society. Ong is also an ambassador-at-large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.^[6]

In 2017, he blasted fellow diplomat Professor Kishore Mahbubani 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, he 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."^[7]

Mr Ong has received several awards throughout his career. He was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 1997, the Long Service Medal in 2002 and the Meritorious Service Medal in 2008 by the Singapore Government. He also received the Medal of Friendship of the Lao People's Democratic Republic in 2007, and the Medal of Sahametrei of the Kingdom of Cambodia in 2007.^[8]

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