Barry Desker

Ambassador Barry Desker holds the position of 'Distinguished Fellow' of the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies after he stepped down as the Dean of RSIS in 2014. He is also non-resident Ambassador to the Vatican and Spain and the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Jurong Port Pte Ltd and Singapore Technologies Marine Ltd. He is a Trustee of Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
He was Singapore’s Ambassador to Indonesia from 1986 to 1993. He retired from the foreign service in 1993 and was appointed the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Trade Development Board (1994-2000). He was Singapore's Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. He was previously on the Boards of Sime SembCorp Engineering Sdn Bhd, as well as Sembawang Engineering and Construction Pte Ltd (now SembCorp Utilities Pte Ltd).
Mr Desker, a President's Scholar, graduated from the University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) degree and obtained his master's degree from the University of London.
Mr Desker is also an Asia-Pacific member of the Trilateral Commission.