Peter Ho’s Menagerie

“Peter Ho and I were in the 3rd batch of SAF Scholars. We went up to Cambridge together in 1973. Both of us did engineering. We were good friends from university days. We were both active in the Cambridge University Malaysia Singapore Association (CUMSA). Back in the SAF after graduation, Peter, together with Teo Chee Hean, joined the Navy. We met from time to time. After I joined politics in 1988, I interacted with Peter from time to time in public service. He was my Permanent Secretary when I was Foreign Minister from 2004–2011. From his youth, Peter was steady and mature, broad in interest and balanced in judgement, and utterly reliable. In the Foreign Ministry, we had an excellent working relationship. We worked on all important matters together, differing little in view, and always learning from each other. After I left government in 2011, I was for a day running for the Elected Presidency. At my request, Peter agreed to be my campaign manager. Since then, we meet episodically, but not enough.”
—George Yeo, Former Minister for Foreign Affairs (2004–2011)

“Few people have shaped the governance of Singapore and its relations with the rest of the world more deeply — and in a more thoroughly forward-looking manner — than Peter Ho. From his role as Head of the Civil Service and in many positions working on foreign affairs and national security, he helped steer Singaporean policy in an era of transformative political and economic change. Now through his contribution to the Centre for Strategic Futures and involvement with Singapore’s leading educational institutions, Peter is helping to chart the course into a future filled with both risk and opportunity. This book is a well-deserved testament to a life and career of public service in the highest sense of the term.”
—Ian Bremmer, President and Founder, Eurasia Group and GZERO Media

Dr Shashi Jayakumar is Executive Director and Founder of SJK Geostrategic Advisory Pte Ltd, a geopolitical risk consultancy firm. Previously, he was Head of the Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS) at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS). Dr Jayakumar also worked in the Administrative Service of Singapore’s Government for several years, with most of this time spent in the security field (in the Ministry of Defence).

Jeanette Kwek is the Head of the Centre for Strategic Futures (CSF), which focuses on thinking systematically about emerging issues and trends that shape Singapore’s future. A career civil servant, Jeanette has served in various roles connecting foresight and geopolitics.

Dr Adrian W J Kuah is the founding director of the NUS Futures Office, a think tank located in the Office of the President of the National University of Singapore (NUS). The NUS Futures Office scans the horizon for emerging trends and assesses their implications for higher education in general, and NUS in particular. Dr Kuah is an alumnus of the Centre for Strategic Futures.