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Lord Ronald Oxburgh Conferred Prestigious Honorary Citizen Award

Foreign manpower Skills, training and development

02 October 2012

  1. Singapore will be honouring Lord Ronald Oxburgh, Co-Chairman of A*STAR’s Science & Technology Advisory Committee (STAC), member of the A*STAR Board and Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) with the Honorary Citizen Award for his valuable contributions to Singapore. President Tony Tan Keng Yam will present the Award to Lord Ronald Oxburgh at a ceremony held at the Istana.
  2. The award is the highest form of recognition bestowed by the Singapore Government for outstanding contributions by individuals to the country’s growth and development. It is conferred to those who have made a significant impact in the areas of business, science and technology, information communications, education, health, arts and culture, sports, tourism, community services or security. (Please refer to Annex A for more on the Honorary Citizen Award.)
  3. Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, who is also Chairman of the National Research Foundation, paid tribute to Lord Oxburgh. DPM Teo said, “Lord Oxburgh is an eminent international expert in science policy and sustainable energy who has contributed significantly to Singapore’s higher education, science and technology landscape as well as energy policy since 1997. I thank Lord Oxburgh for his valuable contributions.”
  4. A*STAR Chairman Mr Lim Chuan Poh, added, “Lord Oxburgh has always been extremely generous with his time, expertise and thoughtful advice. He has actively participated and contributed significantly to the various A*STAR Boards and Committees as someone who has the greatest interest of A*STAR and Singapore at heart. Over the years, he has also contributed to the wider research community, academia and the public sector in Singapore. He is truly deserving of this honour and I offer him my heartiest congratulations.”
  5. On being conferred the Honorary Citizen Award, Lord Oxburgh said, “I am both astonished and delighted to have been honoured by Singapore in this way. It is a pleasure and a privilege to work with dedicated colleagues who have done so much to raise the international profile of Singapore’s R&D.”
  6. This is the twelfth HCA conferred by Singapore. Previous Honorary Citizens include Nobel Prize recipient Dr Sydney Brenner, Siemens AG Chairman of its Supervisory Board Dr Heinrich von Pierer, Tan Sri Frank Tsao Wen-King of IMC Group, Tata Chairman Mr Ratan Tata, and Professor Edward Holmes, Deputy Chairman, Translational and Clinical Science Group of A*STAR and Executive Chairman of the National Medical Research Council (NMRC) .

    About Lord Ronald Oxburgh
  7. Lord Ronald Oxburgh is a world-renowned geologist and educator who has held several senior economic and academic leadership appointments. He was the former chairman of Shell’s United Kingdom businesses and former chairman of the British House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology. Lord Oxburgh is highly regarded internationally as an expert for Science policy and an advocate for responsible use of energy and development of new energy products.
  8. Lord Ronald Oxburgh has contributed his time and effort generously to advancing Singapore’s Science and Technology interests. Since 2002, Lord Oxburgh served on the Board of the Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and was instrumental in helping to formulate A*STAR’s Research and Development (R&D) blueprint. He was also a key player in shaping two other national Science and Technology (S&T) plans – the 2010 S&T Plan and the 2015 Science Technology and Enterprise Plan which supported high quality research and top scientific talent.
  9. Beyond A*Star, Lord Oxburgh has also contributed his expertise to shape other key development areas of Singapore. Since 2006, he has been the Co-Chair of the Environmental & Water Technologies (EWT) International Advisory Panel (IAP) to provide counsel on global Environmental and Water issues. His expert views have helped to bolster the growth of environment and water research at universities, as well as the training of engineers in these disciplines.
  10. A dedicated advocate for responsible use of fossil energy, Lord Oxburgh assumed the role as Co-Chair of an inter-agency Clean Energy IAP in 2007 and led in the plan for Clean Energy R&D in Singapore. (Please refer to Annex B for Lord Oxburgh’s detailed CV.)

Annex A

Fact Sheet On The Honorary Citizen Award

About the Honorary Citizen Award

  • The title of Honorary Citizen is a national award conferred by the Singapore Government since 2003 to recognise and acknowledge the contributions of foreigners who have rendered extensive and valuable services to Singapore and its people, or who have made a significant impact in the areas of business, science and technology, information communications, education, health, arts and culture, sports, tourism and community services or security.
  • The Honorary Citizen Award is the highest form of national recognition for a non-Singaporean and ranks ahead of existing awards – the Public Service Star (Distinguished Friends of Singapore) Award and the Public Service Medal (Friends of Singapore) Award.
  • The title of Honorary Citizen is conferred for life.

Annex B - Biography of Lord Ronald Oxburgh