MFA Press Statement: Appointment of Singapore's Non-Resident Ambassador to the Hellenic Republic and Singapore's Non-Resident High Commissioner to the Republic of Ghana

            The Government has appointed Mr Koh Yong Guan as Singapore’s next Ambassador to the Hellenic Republic and Mr Dileep Nair as Singapore’s next High Commissioner to the Republic of Ghana.  They will be resident in Singapore.

             Mr Koh is currently Chairman of Central Provident Fund Board.  He is also Chairman of the Board of SMRT Corporation Ltd, Chairman of The Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Cancer Sciences Institute of Singapore. 

             Mr Koh served in the Ministries of Finance (Revenue Division), Education and Defence before being appointed Second Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence in 1989.  He was the Commissioner of Inland Revenue from 1991 to 1997.  In 1998, Mr Koh was appointed Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore.  He had also held the appointments of Permanent Secretary in the Ministries of Health and National Development, as well as Second Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance (Budget and Revenue) between 1998 and 2001.  Mr Koh was Singapore’s Non-Resident High Commissioner to Canada from May 2008 to March 2013.

              Mr Koh was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 1995.  Mr Koh is married to Mrs Helen Koh and they have two sons.

             Mr Nair started his career in the Housing and Development Board where he held the post of Mechanical Engineer from 1974 to 1979.  He was then appointed Deputy Director from 1980 to 1983 and Director from 1984 to 1985 in the Ministry of Finance.   Thereafter, Mr Nair was Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry from 1985 to 1988, and Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Defence from 1989 to 1996.  He was Chief Executive Officer of Post Office Savings Bank from 1997 to 1998, before being appointed as Managing Director of DBS Bank from 1998 to 2000.  Mr Nair was appointed the Under-Secretary-General of Internal Oversight Services at the United Nations from April 2000 to April 2005.  He served as Consul-General in the Singapore Consulate-General in Dubai from August 2005 to May 2011 and Ambassador to Lao People’s Democratic Republic from June 2011 to January 2013. 

             Mr Nair was awarded Singapore's Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 1992.  Mr Nair is married to Mdm Latha Nair and they have two daughters.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

26 MAY 2013

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   BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY

OF MR KOH YONG GUAN

Mr Koh Yong Guan is currently the Chairman of Central Provident Fund Board, the national pension fund for all employees in both the private and public sectors in Singapore.  He was Singapore’s Non-Resident High Commissioner to Canada from May 2008 to March 2013.

Mr Koh was born on 9 June 1946 in Singapore.  He graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science (Honours) degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1970 and a Master of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering in 1972 from the University of Toronto on a Colombo Plan scholarship.  He obtained a Master in Business Administration (with distinction) from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium in 1981.

Mr Koh joined the Civil Service as a Biomedical Engineer in the Ministry of Health in 1972 and was absorbed into the Administrative Service in 1979. He served in the Ministries of Finance (Revenue Division), Education and Defence before being appointed Second Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence in 1989.  Mr Koh was the Commissioner of Inland Revenue from 1991 to 1997.  In 1998, he was appointed Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore (Governor of the Central Bank).  He had also held the appointments of Permanent Secretary, Ministries of Health and National Development, and Second Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance (Budget and Revenue) between 1998 and 2001.  He retired as the Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), in June 2005, and remained a member of the MAS Board until April 2011.

Mr Koh is currently also the Chairman of the Board of SMRT Corporation Ltd, a publicly listed company that runs the underground train system, and buses and taxi services in Singapore.  He is also Chairman of the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Chairman of the Cancer Sciences Institute of Singapore.

Mr Koh was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 1995 for his significant contributions in transforming Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore into a modern and forward-looking tax authority.

Mr Koh is married to Mrs Helen Koh and they have two adult sons, and three grandchildren.

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BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY OF

MR DILEEP NAIR

Mr Dileep Nair was born in Singapore on 12 July 1950.  He graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering from McGill University in 1973.  In 1981, he obtained a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University.

Mr Nair started his career in the Housing and Development Board where he held the post of Mechanical Engineer from 1974 to 1979.  He was then appointed Deputy Director from 1980 to 1983 and Director from 1984 to 1985 in the Ministry of Finance.   Thereafter, Mr Nair was Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry from 1985 to 1988, then Deputy Secretary in Ministry of Defence from 1989 to 1996.  He was Chief Executive Officer of Post Office Savings Bank from 1997 to 1998, before moving on to DBS Bank as Managing Director from 1998 to 2000.  In April 2000, Mr Nair was appointed the Under-Secretary-General of Internal Oversight Services at the United Nations, where he held the post till April 2005. 

Mr Nair served as Consul-General in the Singapore Consulate-General in Dubai from August 2005 to May 2011.  He was Singapore’s Ambassador to Lao People’s Democratic Republic from June 2011 to January 2013.

 Mr Nair was awarded Singapore's Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 1992. 

 Mr Nair is married to Mdm Latha Nair and they have two daughters.

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