PROFESSOR CHHEM KIETH RETHY

Biography

PROFESSOR CHHEM KIETH RETHY is a medical doctor, science diplomat, educator and historian with extended experience in Digital Science & Technology, Medical Ethics & Professionalism, Global Health Diplomacy, Nuclear Technology Policy, and Executive Education. He holds a MD, a PhD in Education and a PhD in History.

He has published more than 200 scientific articles, edited 25 textbooks and has been invited as a keynote speaker in more than 70 countries.

He was a Professor of Radiology in Canada (McGill), Singapore (NUS), Austria (Vienna Medical University) and Japan (Hir shima, Nagasaki, Fukushima Medical University) for 30 years. He was the Chair of the Radiology and Nuclear Medicine Department of University of Western Ontario. He was the Director of the Division of Human Health at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from 2008 to 2014.

From 2014 to 2019, he was the Executive Director of the Cambodian Development Resource Institute (CDRI), a leading think tank in Kingdom of Cambodia, in the Top 100 of the University of Pennsylvania Global Think Tank ranking. He is the cofounder of the China Studies Center at CDRI. Currently, he is an Honourary Distinguished Fellow at the Asian Vision Institute and a member of the Advisory Board of the International Center for Higher Education Innovation (UNESCO) at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen. He is a distinguished visiting professor at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki, Hiroshima and Fukushima Medical University.

He is an international advisor to the China Institute of International Studies in Beijing.

He serves also as an academic advisor to the Kirirom Institute of Technology (KIT). In May 2019, Professor CHHEM Kieth Rethy was ap- pointed Minister Delegate, Attached to the Prime Minister. He is seconded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. In August 2020, he was appointed as Secretary of State at the newly created Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation, in addition to his position at the Prime Minister Office. In these capacities, he oversees the National Institute of Science, Technology and Innovation (NISTI) and the National Institute of Diplomacy and International Relations (NIDIR). He also serves as member of the Board of Trustees of the Cambodia Academy of Digital Technology. and he serves on the Leadership Council of the UNSDSN.

EDUCATION BACKGROUND
• 2009 PhD in History: University of Montreal, Canada Thesis: Buddhist Medicine of Jayavarman 7
• 1997 PhD in Education: University of Montreal, Canada Thesis: University and Human Capital in ASEAN Perspective
• 1981 MD: University of Paris, France

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
• 2023 : Senior Minister, Economic, Social and Cultural Council
• 2019-2023 : Minister Delegate Attached to the PM
Secretary of State, Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation
• 2014-2019 : Executive Director, Cambodia Development Resources Institute
• 2008-2014 : Director, Division of Human Health, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications,
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
• 2003 – 2008: Chair, Department of Medical Imaging, Western University, Canada
• 1988 – 2008: Professor of Radiology, Sherbrooke, McGill, Western University and National
University of Singapore