Kishore Mahbubani

Kishore Mahbubani is a Singaporean diplomat, academic, and geopolitical thinker widely recognized for shaping global discourse on Asia’s rise and international cooperation. He served 33 years in the Singapore Foreign Service, including two terms as Singapore’s Ambassador to the United Nations and as President of the UN Security Council in 2001 and 2002. He was also Permanent Secretary of Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

After his diplomatic career, Mahbubani transitioned to academia as the Founding Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore (NUS), where he served from 2004 to 2017. He later became a Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Research Institute (ARI), focusing on geopolitics, global governance, and Asia’s evolving role in the world.

Mahbubani is the author of multiple influential books addressing the 21st‑century global order and Asia’s resurgence, including Has China Won?, The Asian 21st Century, and his 2024 memoir Living the Asian Century. His writings and speeches emphasize cooperation, multilateralism, and the need for innovative approaches to global challenges.

He continues to engage internationally through lectures, publications, and opinion pieces, offering insights on issues such as AI and information integrity, Asia’s strategic transformation, and the shifting balance of global power. In late 2025 he published an article reflecting on the remarkable development of China’s Guangdong‑Hong Kong‑Macao Greater Bay Area, which he described as deserving recognition among the world’s wonders.

Mahbubani’s contributions have earned him broad recognition, including induction into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and listings among the world’s leading public intellectuals.