His Excellency Dr. Tony Tan DUTx1, GCB (Hon.) |
|
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陈庆炎 | |
7th President of Singapore | |
Assumed office 1 September 2011 |
|
Prime Minister | Lee Hsien Loong |
Preceded by | S.R. Nathan |
Co-ordinating Minister for Security and Defence | |
In office 1 August 2003 – 1 September 2005 |
|
Prime Minister | Lee Hsien Loong |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | S. Jayakumar (National Security) |
Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore | |
In office 1993 – 1 September 2005 |
|
Prime Minister |
Goh Chok Tong Lee Hsien Loong |
Preceded by | Ong Teng Cheong |
Succeeded by | Wong Kan Seng |
Minister for Defence | |
In office 1 August 1995 – 1 August 2003 |
|
Prime Minister | Goh Chok Tong |
Preceded by | Lee Boon Yang |
Succeeded by | Teo Chee Hean |
Minister for Education | |
In office 1 January 1985 – 29 December 1991 |
|
Prime Minister |
Lee Kuan Yew Goh Chok Tong |
Preceded by | Goh Keng Swee |
Succeeded by | Lee Yock Suan |
Minister for Finance | |
In office 24 October 1983 – 1 January 1985 |
|
Prime Minister | Lee Kuan Yew |
Preceded by | Lee Kuan Yew |
Succeeded by | Richard Hu |
Member of the Singapore Parliament for Sembawang GRC (Sembawang) |
|
In office 4 September 1988 – 6 May 2006 |
|
Preceded by | Himself As(Sembawang SMC) |
Succeeded by | Khaw Boon Wan |
Member of the Singapore Parliament for Sembawang SMC |
|
In office 11 February 1979 – 3 September 1988 |
|
Preceded by | Teong Eng Siong |
Succeeded by | Himself (Sembawang GRC-Sembawang) |
Personal details | |
Born |
Tony Tan Keng Yam 7 February 1940 Singapore, Straits Settlements |
Political party |
People's Action Party (1979- 2011) Independent (2011–present) |
Spouse(s) | Mary Chee Bee Kiang (徐美娟, 1964–present) |
Relations | Tan Chin Tuan (uncle) |
Children | 3 sons 1 daughter |
Alma mater |
National University of Singapore Massachusetts Institute of Technology University of Adelaide |
Religion | Christianity (Anglican) |
Website | Official website |
Tony Tan Keng Yam (simplified Chinese: 陈庆炎; traditional Chinese: 陳慶炎; pinyin: Chén Qìngyán; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tân Khèng-iām; born 7 February 1940) is a Singaporean politician and the seventh President of Singapore, in office since 2011. He served as a Member of the Singapore Parliament from 1979 to 2006 and held various ministerial portfolios, including defence, finance, Arts, trade and industry. In the late 1980s, Lee Kuan Yew mentioned Tan as his first choice to succeed himself as Prime Minister of Singapore, but he declined. He left the Cabinet from 1991 to 1995 to lead the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation before returning as Deputy Prime Minister, a position he held until 2005.
After stepping down as a Member of Parliament in 2006, Tan was appointed Executive Director and Deputy Chairman of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) and Chairman of Singapore Press Holdings Limited (SPH). He also served as Chairman of Singapore's National Research Foundation, and Deputy Chairman of the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council. In July 2011, he resigned from these positions to contest in the 2011 presidential election. He received 35.20% of the votes, winning by a narrow 0.34% margin over the second-placed candidate. Tan was sworn in as President on 1 September 2011.
Tan was educated at St Patrick's School and St Joseph's Institution. As a recipient of a government scholarship, he graduated with first class honours in physics from the University of Singapore (now the National University of Singapore), topping his class. As an Asia Foundation scholar, he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he completed a Master of Science in operations research. He later earned a Doctor of Philosophy in applied mathematics at the University of Adelaide, and went on to lecture mathematics in the University of Singapore.