Former president Tony Tan has been appointed the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS).

He will be taking over Eddie Teo.

Teo recently stepped down as the Chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC).

Full circle

Tan is no stranger to RSIS.

As then-Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, he launched the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS) in 1996.

IDSS was the predecessor of RSIS and now a prominent centre within the School.

During the launch of RSIS in 2006, then President S R Nathan said that it was Tan who "first saw the need for a think tank to grapple with, and decipher, the fast changing strategic (security) environment".

Nathan said that Tan wanted IDSS to be dedicated to scanning the emerging security environment and analyzing how it impacted on Singapore and the region.

According to RSIS, Tan provided "strong" support to "advance the development of IDSS and RSIS".

Also, he would meet the RSIS board annually to "discuss relevant issues and ideas for the School’s research work."

Second President to be involved with RSIS

The late President Nathan was also involved with then Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS) as its founding director.

Diplomat Barry Desker took over as director of IDSS in 2000 when Nathan was elected the President of Singapore.

RSIS Executive Deputy Chairman of RSIS Ong Keng Yong welcomed Tan as the Chairman, saying that the school look forward to his "continuing mentorship in the coming years".

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Top image adapted from RSIS and Tony Tan's Facebook pages