George Yeo

George Yeo is a pivotal figure in Singapore’s history. He served as a government minister for 23 years. His briefs included arts, trade, health and foreign affairs. He remains an influential figure on the world stage, held in high regard by foreign governments and international businesses.

Like all great statespeople, Yeo’s political look is shaped by a deep understanding of history and culture. He shares his reflections in a 3 part book, Musings. It featured on Singapore’s bestseller list for 7 months. This nuanced approach makes Yeo a calmer voice in the US-China dialogue. He perhaps tends towards the views of fellow diplomat Kishore Mahbubani in defending China against global criticism. But he also believes a multipolar world can benefit both China and the United States.

George Yeo is also a formidable force in the business world. He was chairman of logistics company Kerry Holdings and a senior adviser at the Kuok Group. Today he is a member of the Berggruen Institute on Governance, the Vatican Council for the Economy and the International Advisory Panel of Peking University, where he actively shapes discourse on global governance and economic policy.

Yeo remains active in academia too. He is a Visiting Scholar at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, and the Founding Patron of its Asia Competitiveness Institute.

George Yeo read Engineering at the University of Cambridge and has an MBA from Harvard University. He had a distinguished military career thereafter, rising to the rank of Brigadier-General in Singapore’s armed forces.