Chan Heng Chee

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Then Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew and Chan Heng Chee meet with U.S. Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen during Lee's visit to the U.S. in 2000.

Professor Chan Heng Chee (born February 16, 1942, Simplified Chinese: 陈庆珠; pinyin: Chén Qìngzhū) is Singapore's Ambassador to the United States. She received this appointment in July 1996.

During her tenure as ambassador to the U.S., bilateral relationship improved tremendously. In May 2003, Singapore and U.S. signed the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (USSFTA), the first FTA that U.S. entered into with an East Asian country. Both countries also enhanced their ties in areas of defence and security.

[edit] Academic career

She received her education at the University of Singapore where she graduated with a Master of Arts in Political Science in 1966, and Master of Arts degree in 1967 at Cornell University.

In 1974 she received her Ph.D. from the University of Singapore. Her thesis had the title: The dynamics of one-party dominance: a study of five Singapore constituencies.

She was previously the Executive Director of the Singapore International Foundation and served as Director of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Chan was also the founding Director of the Institute of Policy Studies.

She was a member of the International Advisory Board of the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations and on the Council at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London and the International Council of the Asia Society in New York.

Chan has received a number of awards, including Honorary Degrees of Doctor of Letters in 1994 from the University of Newcastle, Australia and the University of Buckingham in 1998.

Besides being ambassador to the United States, she is presently professor of political science on secondment at the National University of Singapore.

[edit] Political career

She served as Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 1989 to 1991 and was concurrently the High Commissioner to Canada and Ambassador to Mexico.

In 1998, she received the Inaugural International Woman of the Year Award from the Organization of Chinese American Women (OCAW), and Singapore’s first "Woman of the Year" award in 1991.

In August 2005, Chan received Singapore's Meritorious Service Medal, the highest National Day Award conferred.