(Stockholm, 15 April 2021) The Swedish Government has formally appointed Ambassador Chan Heng Chee and Feodor Voitolovsky as new members of the SIPRI Governing Board.
Welcoming the appointment, Ambassador Jan Eliasson, Chair of the SIPRI Governing Board, says, ‘We are extremely honoured that both Ambassador Chan Heng Chee and Feodor Voitolovsky have accepted our invitation. We are impressed by their achievements and look forward to their valuable contributions to the Board and to SIPRI’s work.’
Ambassador Chan Heng Chee is a Singaporean academic and diplomat currently serving as Ambassador-at-Large with the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She is Chair of the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities at the Singapore University of Technology and Design and Chair of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies–Yusof Ishak Institute.
'Security challenges remain sharp and unending globally, but increasingly Asia is where we should prepare for crisis and conflict. The US-China rivalry is intensifying and will inevitably impact other countries and relationships. It will require the most skilled and wise responses to navigate this path. I hope to add a perspective from the region to SIPRI’s discussions', comments Ambassador Chan Heng Chee.
Previously, Ambassador Chan Heng Chee was Singapore’s Ambassador to the United States and Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Currently she is Deputy Chairman of the Social Science Research Council, a member of the Science of Cities Committee, National Research Foundation, and a member of the Advisory Council on the Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence and Data, Ministry of Communications and Information. She is also a member of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights.
Feodor Voitolovsky is the Director of the Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), Russian Academy of Sciences.
'It is a great privilege and responsibility for me to join the SIPRI Governing Board. For decades, SIPRI has been developing high standards of academic analysis and applied research which has created one of the highest think tank reputations around the globe. SIPRI is well-known and highly respected not only for its well-grounded methodology and sources, research and analysis but also for its balanced positions and attitude to very sensitive issues such as regional conflicts, incidents, arms control and other security issues', comments Dr Voitolovsky.
Feodor Voitolovsky has worked for IMEMO as a research fellow since 2003 undertaking various steps of an academic career. In 2014 he became Deputy Director of IMEMO for international politics and in 2017 was elected as Director of IMEMO. He has been an advisory board member of the National Security Council of the Russian Federation since 2015. His research interests are mainly focused on international security, US foreign and security policy, transatlantic relations, US foreign and security policy in Asia Pacific, and US–Russia and US–China relations. He has published more than 70 publications including monographs. He has also taught at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (University) since 2008.
For editors
The SIPRI Governing Board takes the strategic decisions on SIPRI’s research agenda, activities, organization and financial administration. Ambassador Chan Heng Chee and Feodor Voitolovsky join a board of individuals with profound and broad-ranging expertise in diplomacy, policy formation, academia and research.
The current members of the SIPRI Governing Board are:
Ambassador Jan Eliasson (Sweden), Chair
Espen Barth Eide (Norway)
Jean Marie Guéhenno (France)
Dr Radha Kumar (India)
Ambassador Ramtane Lamamra (Algeria)
Dr Patricia Lewis (Ireland/United Kingdom)
Dr Jessica Tuchman Mathews (United States)
More information on SIPRI’s Governing Board members can be found here, and on SIPRI’s organizational structure here.
Media contact
For further information, please contact Alexandra Manolache, Communications Officer (alexandra.manolache@sipri.org, +46 76 628 61 33).