Professor Tommy Koh is currently Ambassador At-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Director, Institute of Policy Studies. Professor Koh received a First Class Honors degree in Law from the University of Singapore, a Master’s degree in Law from Harvard University and a post-graduate Diploma in Criminology from Cambridge University. In 1984, Professor Koh was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws from Yale University. He was Dean of the Law Faculty of the National University of Singapore from 1971-1974.

He was appointed by the United Nations Secretary General as his Special Envoy to lead a mission to the Russian Federation, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia in 1993. He has been a member of three WTO dispute resolution panels, two of which as chairman. He was a visiting professor at Stanford University in 1995. He was the first Executive Director of the Asia Europe Foundation from 1997-2000.

Ambassador Koh was Singapore's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, New York from 1968 to 1971 (concurrently accredited as High Commissioner to Canada) and again from 1974 to 1984 (concurrently accredited as High Commissioner to Canada and Ambassador to Mexico). He was Ambassador to the United States of America from 1984 to 1990. He was President of the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea from 1980 to 1982. He was Chairman of the Preparatory Committee and the Main Committee of the UN Conference on Environment and Development from 1990 to 1992.

Ambassador Koh is the author of three books: The U.S. and East Asia: Conflict and Cooperation; The Quest for World Order; and Asia and Europe.