Biography

Professor Paul Cheung, a national of Singapore, is Professor (Practice) at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy of the National University of Singapore (NUS). He returned to Singapore and NUS after serving for almost 9 years as the Director of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), Department of Economic and Social Affairs at the United Nations Headquarters in New York (2004-2012).

At the UN, he facilitated the development of the global statistical system and coordinated the work of the United Nations Statistical Commission. He supervised a programme of work that included the development of international statistical standards, the dissemination of global statistical data, the provision of technical advice to member states in the development of national statistical systems, the coordination of international statistical activities, and the delivery of programme support to the UN System on all statistical matters.

Professor Cheung also had the responsibility of implementing the UN mandates on geospatial information, cartography, and geographic names. In 2011, his initiative of establishing an inter-governmental platform to address issues on Global Geospatial Information Management was endorsed by the UN Economic and Social Council. This global multilateral mechanism will explore all issues on geospatial information and a series of high level meetings have been held.

Prior to his appointment, Professor Cheung served as Chief Statistician of the Government of Singapore (1991-2004). In this role, he also served as the National Statistical Coordinator as well as the Chief Executive of the Singapore Department of Statistics. He was responsible for the transformation of the Singapore statistical system.

Before joining the Department of Statistics, he was the Director of Population Planning Unit. He was concurrently a teaching staff at the NUS where he joined in 1983 after receiving his PhD.

Born in Hong Kong, Professor Cheung received his education in Singapore and the United States. He did postgraduate work at the East-West Center, Hawaii, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He received his PhD in 1983 from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA. He has taught at the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University for many years since graduation on full or part-time basis.

He has received the following national and professional awards: The Von Neumann-Spallart Medal awarded by the International Institute of Statistics (1999); The Public Administration Medal (Gold) ‘Pingat Pentadbiran Awam’ awarded by the President of the Republic of Singapore (2001); The Honorary Doctorate Degree by the National University of Mongolia (2008); Senior Advisor on Statistics, the Government of China, the UN21 Award by the UN Secretary General (2010), and the Royal Order of Sahametrei (Grand Officer) by the Government of Cambodia (2012).

Professor Cheung served as President of the International Association of Official Statistics, (2001-2003) . He was the past Chairman of the Governing Board, Statistical Institute of Asia and the Pacific (UN-SIAP), the Chair of the UNESCAP Committee on Statistics, as well as Chairman of the Regional Advisory Board of the Asian Development Bank's International Comparison Program for Asia and the Pacific.

Professor Cheung is well known in the Asia and the Pacific region for his pioneering research in the fields of manpower, population, socioeconomic planning and official statistics. He has written widely in his areas of research.

Education

Honorary Doctorate Degree (Doctor Honoris Causa), National University of Mongolia.

Joint Ph.D. in Social Work (Social Planning) and Sociology (Demography), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Master of Arts (Sociology - Demography) and Master of Social Work (Social Planning), University of Hawaii and East West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Certificate of Population Studies, University of Hawaii and East West Population Institute.

Bachelor of Social Sciences (Sociology, First Class Honours), University of Singapore.