Prof Kenneth Mak

Prof Kenneth Mak

Professor Kenneth Mak is Director-General of Health at the Ministry of Health Singapore.

In this role, Professor Mak is the principal medical adviser to the Singapore Government and provides professional input and guidance to other Ministries and public agencies on health and healthcare related issues.

Professor Mak oversees the provision of all health services in Singapore. Within the Ministry of Health, he ensures that clinical services are delivered seamless across multiple settings by the public healthcare system. He leads in developing and implementing national healthcare policies in areas such as population health, healthcare regulation, communicable diseases and non-communicable diseases, healthcare professional standards as well as the development and enhancement of the performance of the nation’s healthcare system and services. Professor Mak works closely with Singapore’s Regional Health Systems and healthcare institutions on care integration as well as on Singapore’s long-term healthcare transformation strategy.

In addition to his administrative roles within the Ministry of Health, Professor Mak chairs the Governing Board for the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA), which leads in the management of communicable disease outbreaks in Singapore and guides our national strategies to promote pandemic preparedness and resiliency. He also chairs the Governing Board for the Consortium for Research and Innovation in Singapore (CRIS) which supports biomedical research and innovation in Singapore as well as to facilitate the translation of basic research to clinically relevant treatments that may be adopted by healthcare institutions in Singapore.

Professor Mak is the Registrar of the Singapore Medical Council, which regulates the professional practice of medical practitioners and establishes standards for professional practice through its Ethical Code and Ethical Guide. He also chairs the Specialist Accreditation Board and the Family Physicians Accreditation Board, which oversee the training and accreditation of medical specialists and Family Physicians respectively in Singapore.

Professor Mak is a general surgeon with subspecialty interests in hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery, as well as in trauma surgery. He maintains his clinical practice as a Senior Consultant surgeon in the Department of Surgery, at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Singapore. His previous administrative appointments include Chief of Surgery at three public hospitals in Singapore and Chairman of the Medical Board at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Singapore. Professor Mak was Deputy Director of Medical Services (Health Services Group) in MOH from 2015 to end-2019. He was appointed Director of Medical Services in 2020 and this appointment was redesignated in May 2023 to Director-General of Health to better reflect his role as the main overseer of clinical and public health services in Singapore.

Professor Mak is a Clinical Professor of Surgery with the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore and an Adjunct Professor of Surgery with the Lee Kong Chian Medical School, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He continues to play an active role in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education. Professor Mak also sits on the Governing Board of both the Lee Kong Chian Medical School and the Duke-NUS Medical School. He is a member of the Governing Board of the National University Health System.

Professor Mak retired from voluntary military service in 2021, as a Colonel with the Singapore Armed Forces. He had held various command and staff appointments at Battalion, Brigade and Division level.