ASEAN Secretary General Ong Keng Yong

Ong Keng Yong is possibly the perfect man for the position of secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as he speaks many of the major languages of the region: English, Mandarin, Malay and Arabic.

Born in Singapore on Jan. 6, 1954, Ong studied law at the University of Singapore where he obtained an LLB (honors) and at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he got his master's degree in Arab Studies.

Ong's career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Singapore began in 1979, and he had his first overseas posting in 1984 as the charge d'affairs of the Singapore Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Later, he served as counsellor at the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, and as minister counsellor and deputy chief of mission at the Singapore Embassy in Washington D.C. in 1991.

At the age of 42, he was one of Singapore's youngest heads of mission, serving the post as high commissioner to India and then as ambassador to Nepal.

Between oversees postings, Ong served in various political directorates overseeing ASEAN at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including the director of the Policy, Planning and Analysis Directorate II. He was also in charge of APEC and affairs related to the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).

From 1994-1995, he was concurrently the spokesman of the foreign ministry. On his return from India in 1998, Ong acted as press secretary to the Singaporean prime minister and also as deputy secretary. A year later, he became chief executive director of the People's Association, which is Singapore's most important community-based organization and oversees some 1,700 grassroots communities. -- JP