Role International lawyer Ethnicity Chinese Spouse Poh Siew Aing (m. 1967) | Citizenship Singaporean Children Wei Koh, Aun Koh Name Tommy Koh Parents Tsai Ying, Koh Han Kok | |
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Born 12 November 1937 (age 86) ( 1937-11-12 ) British Malaya Alma mater University of MalayaHarvard UniversityUniversity of Cambridge Occupation International lawyer, professor, and a diplomat Known for Former ambassador to the United Nations Education Books The Tommy Koh Rea, Pedra Branca: The Road, The United States and East Asia, Malaysia & Singapore: The Land, America's Role in Asia: Am | ||
Tommy koh small in the new world perspectives channel newsasia
Tommy Koh (Tommy Thong-Bee Koh or Tommy Koh Thong Bee, simplified Chinese: 许通美; traditional Chinese: 許通美; pinyin: Xǔ Tōng Měi; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Khó Thong-bí) (born: Singapore, 12 November 1937) , , , is an international lawyer, professor, and a diplomat from Singapore. He was also the former ambassador to the United Nations.
Contents
- Tommy koh small in the new world perspectives channel newsasia
- Tommy Koh on Straits Used for International Navigation
- Early life and education
- Career
- Selected writings
- Honours and awards
- Lectures
- References
Tommy Koh on Straits Used for International Navigation
Early life and education
Koh was born in Singapore on 12 November 1937. His father was from Tong'an, Fujian province and his mother from Shanghai. He graduated from Raffles Institution and received a LL.B. (First Class Honours) degree from the University of Malaya in Singapore (now National University of Singapore). He holds a LL.M. from Harvard University and a post-graduate Diploma in Criminology from Cambridge University. He was conferred a full professorship in 1977. Prof Koh was awarded honorary LL.D. degrees from Yale University and Monash University. He has also received awards from Columbia University, Stanford University, Georgetown University, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Tufts), and Curtin University.
Career
He is an international lawyer, professor and Ambassador-at-Large for the Government of Singapore. He presently serves as Special Adviser at the Singapore Institute of Policy Studies, Chairman of the National Heritage Board, Chairman of the Governing Board of the NUS Centre for International Law, and Rector of Tembusu College at the National University of Singapore. He is on secondment from the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law.
He was President of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, 1980–1982. Lax and Sebenius present Koh and his efforts in getting the Convention passed, as an example of successful negotiating. 1990 to 1992 he served as Chairman of the Main Committee of the UN Conference on Environment and Development, where he presided over the negotiations on Agenda 21. He has also served as Singapore's ambassador to the United Nations and the United States.
Koh was the first Executive Director of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), established in Singapore in 1997 by the countries of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).
Professor Koh is currently a special advisor to the Institute of Policy Studies.
On 9 August 2008, Koh was conferred with the Order of Nila Utama (First Class) by the Singapore Government, for his outstanding contributions in the Singapore legislative team representing Singapore, in the Pedra Branca dispute case with the Malaysian government.
He is on the panel of mediators for Singapore International Mediation Centre.