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Mr Barry Desker

Distinguished Fellow, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS)
Nanyang Professor of Practice, Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
Education
BA Hons (University of Singapore); MA (London); D. Litt (Warwick); LLD (Exeter)
: [email protected]
: +65 6790 5981
: RSIS
Between the Eagle and the Panda: ASEAN’s Perspectives on Human Rights
Chapters in Edited Books

Mr Barry Desker

Distinguished Fellow, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS)
Nanyang Professor of Practice, Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
Education
BA Hons (University of Singapore); MA (London); D. Litt (Warwick); LLD (Exeter)
: [email protected]
: +65 6790 5981
: RSIS

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Biography

Barry Desker is the Distinguished Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), and Nanyang Professor of Practice, Nanyang Technological University.  He is a Member of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights, Singapore and a Member of the Board of Directors of the Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship.  He was the Chair of the ASEAN Inter-Governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) in 2018.

From 2000 to 2014, he was the Director, Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies and served as founding Dean of RSIS from 2007 to 2014.  He was the Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore Trade Development Board from 1994 to 2000 and Singapore’s Ambassador to Indonesia from 1986 to 1993.

Ambassador Desker served as Singapore’s Non-Resident Ambassador to the Holy See and Spain from 2007 to 2020.

A President’s Scholar, he was educated at the University of Singapore, University of London and Cornell University.  He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters by the University of Warwick in 2012 and Doctor of Laws by the University of Exeter in 2013.  Ambassador Desker has also been very active in the corporate world serving on the boards of Singaporean and multi-national corporations.

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Areas of Expertise

  • WTO
  • Terrorism and civil conflict in Asia
  • Regional economic and security issues

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Professional Activities

  • Singapore’s representative to the Governing Board of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
  • Director of the Cordell Hull Institute (Washington, D.C.)
  • Honorary Advisor, UN Association of Singapore
  • Member, International Advisory Board, Brenthurst Foundation (South Africa)
  • Member, International Advisory Board, Africa Progress Group
  • Member of the Editorial Board, The Journal of Strategic Studies
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RSIS Publications

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External Publications

Journal Articles

Chapters in Edited Books

Working Papers

Op-Eds

Last updated on 17/08/2022