Singapore Appoints Peter Ong Head Of Civil Service
Peter Ho retires.
Mr Peter Ho, Head of Civil Service, Permanent Secretary (Special Duties) in the Prime Minister’s Office, Permanent Secretary, (Foreign Affairs) and Permanent Secretary for National Security and Intelligence Co-ordination), will retire from the Administrative Service on 1 September 2010, after more than 34 years of distinguished service in the public sector.
Mr Ho, 56, will continue to contribute to the public sector in various capacities after his retirement. He has already accepted an invitation to serve as Senior Advisor to the Centre for Strategic Futures that he was instrumental in setting up to strengthen the capacity of the Singapore Public Service to prepare for the future. He will also be a Senior Fellow at the Civil Service College.
Mr Ho joined the Singapore Armed Forces in 1973 on being awarded an SAF Overseas Scholarship. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Engineering Tripos from Cambridge University. He was absorbed into the Administrative Service in 1982.
Whilst in the SAF/MINDEF, Mr Ho held various appointments which included Head (Naval Intelligence Department), Head (Naval Plans Department), Head (Joint Plans Department), Director (Policy) and Deputy Secretary (Policy). In 1990, he was appointed DS (Foreign Affairs).
Mr Ho was appointed PS (Defence) in 1995 where he remained till 2004 when he was appointed PS (Foreign Affairs) as well as PS (National Security and Intelligence Coordination). In 2005, he was appointed concurrently as HCS and PS (Special Duties) in the Prime Minister’s Office.
Mr Ho was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Gold) in 1997 for his significant contributions in modernising Singapore’s defence capability. In 2007, Mr Ho was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for his leadership and contributions to the Singapore Public Service.
Thanking Mr Ho for his sterling contributions to the public sector, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister in charge of the Civil Service and Minster for Defence, Mr Teo Chee Hean said “As HCS, Mr Ho has steered the Public Service with visionary leadership and strategic thinking.
As a strong proponent for a networked government, he galvanised agencies to work together to tackle national issues. He has been instrumental in improving and codifying good governance so that public officers can learn from past experiences and prepare for the future.”
“As Permanent Secretary in his various postings, he too led with distinction. Through a series of strategic policy reviews, Mr Ho strengthened MFA’s ability to respond to new and emerging challenges of globalisation and a fast-changing geo-strategic landscape. He set up the National Security Coordination Secretariat, and oversaw the development and execution of national security policies and plans to counter transnational terrorism. In MINDEF, he initiated the process of transformation that led to the 3G SAF, the modernisation of Singapore’s defence capability to enable SAF to exploit new concepts and technologies to better deal with a new spectrum of threats. His foresight has strengthened Singapore’s defence and national security efforts.”
“I am glad that Mr Ho intends to continue to contribute to the Service even after his retirement. With his wealth of experience, he will be a good mentor to our officers. I am sure the Public Service will benefit from this, ” DPM Teo added.
Peter Ong appointed HCS
Mr Peter Ong will be appointed as Head of Civil Service, PS (Special Duties) in the PMO and PS (National Security and Intelligence Co-ordination), in addition to his current appointment as PS(Finance), on 1 September 2010.
Mr Peter Ong, 49, graduated with a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) degree from the University of Adelaide on a Colombo Plan Scholarship. He also holds a Master in Business Administration degree from Stanford University.
Mr Ong spent the early part of his career in the Administrative Service in the Ministry of Communications and Information and the Ministry of Trade and Industry. In 1993, on his return from postgraduate studies, he was appointed Deputy Dean of the Civil Service College. He held this position till 1995 when he was posted to the Ministry of Home Affairs. In 1996, Mr Ong was appointed DS (Trade and Industry). He was seconded to Temasek Holdings as its Executive Vice-President from 1998 to 2000.
Mr Ong was appointed Second PS (Defence) in 2001. In July 2002, he became PS (Transport) before becoming PS (Trade and Industry) in 2005. In 2008, he was appointed concurrently as Second PS (Finance). In October 2009, Mr Ong was appointed PS (Finance).
Other PS appointments
Other changes to PS appointments that will take effect from 1 September 2010 are as follows:
- Mr Bilahari Kausikan, Second PS (Foreign Affairs), will be appointed PS (Foreign Affairs);
- Ms Chan Lai Fung will relinquish her appointment as PS (Law) and remain PS (Finance)(Performance);
- Mr Pang Kin Keong, Director, Internal Security Department, will be appointed PS (Law); and
- BG(NS) Chee Wee Kiong, Director, Security and Intelligence Division, Ministry of Defence, will be appointed Second PS (Foreign Affairs).
Below is the background information on Mr Kausikan, Ms Chan, Mr Pang and BG (NS) Chee.
Mr Bilahari Kausikan
Mr Bilahari Kausikan, 56, graduated with a Bachelor of Social Science degree in Political Science from the National University of Singapore. He also holds a Master of Arts degree in Political Science from Columbia University.
Mr Kausikan first joined the Civil Service in 1981 as a Foreign Service Officer.
He was absorbed into the Administrative Service in 1983. He served in various appointments in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before he was appointed Singapore’s Ambassador to Russia from 1994 to 1995 and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York and High Commissioner to Canada from 1995 to 1998. Mr Kausikan was appointed DS (Foreign Affairs) in 1998 and has been Second PS (Foreign Affairs) since 2001.
Ms Chan Lai Fung
Ms Chan Lai Fung, 46, graduated with a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) degree from Monash University on a Colombo Plan Scholarship.
She started her career in the Administrative Service in the Ministry of Communications and Information in 1987 and held positions in the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance. In 1998, Ms Chan was posted to the Public Service Division, Prime Minister’s Office, where she served in various positions including Head of the Scenario Planning Office and Director of the Institute of Policy Development.
In 2002, Ms Chan was appointed DS (Environment) and became DS (Trade) in 2004. Ms Chan was appointed PS (Law) in 2006 and concurrently PS (Finance)(Performance) in 2009
Mr Pang Kin Keong
Mr Pang Kin Keong, 44, graduated with an Electrical Engineering degree from France. He also holds a Master of Science degree in Management from London Business School.
Mr Pang started his career in 1993 in the Administrative Service in the Public Service Division, Prime Minister’s Office. He was posted to the Ministry of Trade and Industry in 1997 where he held the positions of Director (Trade) and DS (Special Projects). Mr Pang served as the Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister from 2000 to 2004 and was posted to the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2004. He is currently Director, Internal Security Department.
BG(NS) Chee Wee Kiong
BG(NS) Chee Wee Kiong, 46, joined the Singapore Armed Forces in 1982 on being awarded an SAF Overseas Scholarship. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of London. BG(NS) Chee also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the National University of Singapore and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University.
BG(NS) Chee was absorbed into the Administrative Service in 1999. During his career in the SAF/MINDEF, BG(NS) Chee held various appointments which included Commander of Air Defence Systems Division, Chief of Staff for Air Staff and Director of Joint Operations and Planning Department. BG(NS) Chee is currently Director, Security and Intelligence Division, Ministry of Defence.
Topics: 2010, Asia, Bilahari Kausikan, Chan Lai Fung, Chee Wee Kiong, Civil Service College, Governance, government, Head of Civil Service, MINDEF, Ministry of Defense, moniter, monitor, news, Pacific, Pang Kin Keong, Peter Ho, Peter Ong, Public Sector, retirement, SAF, Singapore, Singapore Armed Forces, society
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