A student of philosophy and history, Kishore Mahbubani has published extensively in leading journals and newspapers overseas (including Foreign Affairs, the National Interest, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal). He has also addressed many major international conferences, including Davos, Williamsburg, Ditchley and the IISS meeting. These intellectual pursuits are a result of personal interests, not official duties.
By profession, Mr Mahbubani is a civil servant and career diplomat who has been with the Singapore Foreign Service since 1971. His overseas postings have included Cambodia (where he served during the war, in 1973-74), Malaysia, the United States and the United Nations. Currently, he is the ambassador of Singapore to the United Nations. He was previously Permanent Secretary (Policy) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was the first dean of the Civil Service College in Singapore. He has served on the boards of several leading institutes and think tanks in Singapore, including the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, the Institute of Policy Studies, the Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship and the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies.
Mr Mahbubani was awarded the President's Scholarship in 1967, which enabled him to pursue undergraduate studies in philosophy at the University of Singapore (now the National University of Singapore). In 1976 he obtained a Master's degree, also in philosophy, from Dalhousie University in Canada, which also awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1995. He was a fellow at the Center for International Affairs at Harvard University in 1991-92.
This is a slightly updated version of a biography of Kishore Mahbubani which appeared in his book "Can Asians Think?", published by Times Books International.
