Ong Teng Cheong
|
His Excellency Ong Teng Cheong GCMG (Honorary) |
|
|---|---|
| 王鼎昌 | |
Official portrait of Ong Teng Cheong, taken in 1993
|
|
| 5th President of Singapore | |
|
In office 1 September 1993 – 31 August 1999 |
|
| Prime Minister | Goh Chok Tong |
| Preceded by | Wee Kim Wee |
| Succeeded by | S. R. Nathan |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore | |
|
In office 2 January 1985 – 1 September 1993 |
|
| President |
Devan Nair (1981–1985) Wee Kim Wee (1985–1993) |
| Prime Minister | Lee Kuan Yew |
| Preceded by | S. Rajaratnam |
| Succeeded by | Tony Tan Keng Yam |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Ong Teng Cheong 22 January 1936 Singapore, Straits Settlements |
| Died | 8 February 2002 (aged 66) Singapore General Hospital, Singapore |
| Resting place | Mandai Crematorium |
| Nationality | Singaporean |
| Political party |
Independent (1993–2002) People's Action Party (1972–1993) |
| Spouse(s) | Ling Siew May (林秀梅) |
| Alma mater |
University of Liverpool University of Adelaide The Chinese High School |
| Profession | Architect |
| Religion | Lapsed Buddhist; also Agnostic |
Ong Teng Cheong (Chinese: 王鼎昌; pinyin: Wáng Dǐng Chāng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ông Tíng-chhiong; 22 January 1936 – 8 February 2002), was a Singaporean politician and businessman who was President of Singapore from 1993 to 1999. Prior to taking office as President, he was a member of the ruling People's Action Party and served as Deputy Prime Minister from 1985 to 1993. He was Singapore's first directly elected president, serving a six-year term from 1 September 1993 to 31 August 1999.
Born in 22 January 1936, Ong was the second of five children from a middle-class Singaporean family. His English-educated father Ong Keng Wee (Chinese: 王竟惠; pinyin: Wáng Jìnghuì) felt that the Chinese language was important if one wanted to become successful in business at the time and thus sent all of his children to Chinese-medium schools. Ong graduated with distinctions from The Chinese High School (now the High School Section of Hwa Chong Institution) in 1955. Having received a Chinese-language education, Ong saw little opportunity for advancing his studies in the University of Malaya, as English was the university's language medium.
In 1956, with the help of his father's friends, Ong ventured abroad. Those years were to shape both his beliefs and passions. Ong studied architecture at the University of Adelaide along with his childhood sweetheart and future spouse, Ling Siew May (Chinese: 林秀梅; pinyin: Lín Xiùméi). Both Ong and Ling met each other during a Christmas party while they were still studying in secondary school.
...
Wikipedia