Newswise — Singapore, 26 September 2013 – The National University of Singapore (NUS) congratulates Professor Tommy Koh, Ambassador-At-Large at Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Rector of Tembusu College at NUS, who has been named the recipient of the 2014 Great Negotiator Award by the Program on Negotiation (PON), an inter-university consortium of Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Tufts University; and the Future Diplomacy Project at Harvard Kennedy School.
Prof Koh is honoured for his distinguished career contributions to the fields of negotiation and dispute resolution, especially his leading roles in challenging settings, including the Law of the Sea, the “Rio” Earth Summit, the ASEAN Charter and the Singapore-US Free Trade Agreement.
Prof Koh said, “I thank Harvard University for this great honour. I accept this award on behalf of all my colleagues who have been members of the various teams I have led, in both bilateral and multilateral negotiations."
Established by PON since 2000, the Great Negotiator Award recognises individuals whose lifetime achievements in the field of negotiation and dispute resolution have had a significant and lasting impact. Past recipients of the Award include former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker, III (2012); Martti Ahtisaari, Nobel Peace Prize Recipient and former President of Finland (2010); Sadako Ogata, former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (2005); Richard Holbrooke, former United States Ambassador to the United Nations (2004); and Lakhdar Brahimi, United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy to Afghanistan (2002).
NUS President Professor Tan Chorh Chuan said, “Professor Tommy Koh is an outstanding lawyer, professor and diplomat who played a pivotal role in shaping Singapore’s foreign policy. The Great Negotiator Award is indeed a strong and timely recognition of Prof Koh’s distinguished career as well as his contributions towards international affairs and diplomacy. The NUS community takes pride in Prof Koh’s achievements and our faculty, staff and students are privileged to benefit from his deep insights and vast experience through his active involvement in various academic activities of the university.”
Prof Koh, who is also Chairman of the Centre for International Law of NUS; Special Adviser of the Institute of Policy Studies, a think-tank within the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at NUS; and Chairman of the National Heritage Board, will be honoured at a series of public events at Harvard on 10 April 2014.
Co-chairing the event will be Harvard Business School Professor James K. Sebenius, Vice Chair of the Program on Negotiation; and Harvard Kennedy School Professor Nicholas Burns, Faculty Director of the Future of Diplomacy Project.
Prof Sebenius and Prof Burns jointly stated that, “In honouring Ambassador Koh, we have the unique opportunity to learn from one of the world’s leaders in the practice of large-scale, multiparty conference diplomacy—a complex form of negotiation that will be increasingly needed to forge effective collective responses to a range of global problems in areas such as the environment, trade, public health, finance, development, national security, and terrorism.”
For more information on the 2014 Great Negotiator Award, visit http://www.hks.harvard.edu/news-events/news/press-releases/2014-great-negotiator-award.
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About National University of Singapore (NUS)
A leading global university centred in Asia, the National University of Singapore (NUS) is Singapore’s flagship university, which offers a global approach to education and research, with a focus on Asian perspectives and expertise. NUS has 16 faculties and schools across three campuses. Its transformative education includes a broad-based curriculum underscored by multi-disciplinary courses and cross-faculty enrichment. Over 37,000 students from 100 countries enrich the community with their diverse social and cultural perspectives. NUS has three Research Centres of Excellence (RCE) and 23 university-level research institutes and centres. It is also a partner in Singapore’s fifth RCE. NUS shares a close affiliation with 16 national-level research institutes and centres. Research activities are strategic and robust, and NUS is well-known for its research strengths in engineering, life sciences and biomedicine, social sciences and natural sciences. It also strives to create a supportive and innovative environment to promote creative enterprise within its community. For more information, please visit www.nus.edu.sg
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