Ambassador Mahbubani has enjoyed a remarkable career in government, while at the same time writing prolifically on public issues. As a diplomat in the Singapore Foreign Service from 1971 to 2004, he was posted to Cambodia (where he served during the war in 1973-74), Malaysia, Washington, and New York, where he served two stints as Singapore's ambassador to the United Nations, and as president of the UN Security Council in January 2001 and May 2002. He was permanent secretary at the Foreign Ministry from 1993 to 1998.
He is also the author of Can Asians Think? (published in Singapore, Canada, US, Mexico, India, China and Malaysia) and of Beyond the Age of Innocence: Rebuilding Trust Between America and the World (published in New York). His articles have appeared in a wide range of journals and newspapers. He has also been profiled in the Economist and in Time magazine. Many of his shorter writings can be found on www.mahbubani.net.
Mr. Mahbubani was awarded the President's Scholarship in 1967. He graduated with a first class honors degree in philosophy from the University of Singapore in 1971. He received a master's degree in philosophy in 1976 and an honorary doctorate in 1995, both from Dalhousie University, Canada. In 1991-92, he spent a year as a fellow at Harvard's Center for International Affairs.