President's Scholar

A President's Scholar is a recipient of the academic scholarship annually awarded by the Singaporean government to pursue undergraduate education at a university. The scholarship is considered to be the most prestigious public undergraduate scholarship in Singapore awarded to students of Singaporean nationality.

All recipients have legal obligation to serve a bond (in the form of a public service career) for a certain period of time, usually about 4 to 6 years, after completing his or her studies in university.

Shortlisted candidates are interviewed by a selection committee chaired by the Chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC) of Singapore.

A President's Scholarship by itself does not award any money or lead to any particular career in public service. As such, it is generally paired with another PSC Scholarship, which could be either of the following:

History

The President's Scholarship has its roots in the Queen's Scholarship, which was founded in 1885. The Queen's Scholarship was initiated by Cecil Clementi Smith, Governor of the Straits Settlements. It was awarded to the best performing student of the year by a special selection board.

The Queen's Scholarship was abolished in 1959 and replaced by the Singapore State Scholarship when Singapore gained self-governance.

In August 1964, the Yang di-Pertuan Negara Scholarship was inaugurated to replace the State Scholarship.

In 1966, after Singapore achieved independence, the Yang di-Pertuan Negara Scholarship was renamed the President's Scholarship.

Recipients

Many recipients of the President's Scholarship went on to serve in top positions in the civil service.

According to statistics collected by the newspaper The Straits Times, the schools in Singapore having the highest number of President's Scholars among their alumni are as follows:

SchoolNumber of President's Scholars
Raffles Institution96
Hwa Chong Institution58
National Junior College45
Notable recipients of the President's Scholarship
NameYear receivedRemarks
Politics
Lim Boon Keng1887Member, British Legislative Council
Edmund W. Barker1946Former Cabinet Minister (1964 - 1988)
Tony Tan1959Former President of Singapore (2011 - 2017)
Lee Yock Suan1966Former Cabinet Minister (1987 - 2004)
Mah Bow Tan1967Former Cabinet Minister (1991 - 2011)
Yeo Ning HongFormer Cabinet Minister (80s/90s)
Lee Hsien Loong1970Prime Minister of Singapore
Teo Chee Hean1973Senior Minister
George Yeo1973Former Cabinet Minister (1991 to 2011)
Chan Soo Sen1975Former Member of Parliament (1997 - 2011)
Lim Hng Kiang1973 Former Cabinet Minister
Vivian Balakrishnan1980Minister for Foreign Affairs
Chan Chun Sing1988Minister for Trade and Industry
Sim Ann1994Minister of State for Education and Communications and Information.
David LimFormer Member of Parliament
Tsao YuanFormer Nominated Member of Parliament
Public Sector
Ahmad Mohamed Ibrahim1936Former Attorney-General of Singapore
Lim Siong Guan1965Group President of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation
Koh Cher Siang1965Chairman, Housing and Development Board
Barry Desker1966Dean, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Su Guaning1967Former President, Nanyang Technological University (2003 - 2011)
Kishore Mahbubani1967Former Dean, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
Chan Seng Onn1973Supreme Court Judge
Lee Wei Ling1973Senior Advisor, National Neuroscience Institute
Ivan Png Paak Liang1975Vice-Provost, National University of Singapore (2001 - 2003)
Ng Chee Khern1984Permanent Secretary (Strategy), Prime Minister's Office
Ng Chee Peng1989Former CEO, Central Provident Fund Board
Hoo Sheau Peng1989Supreme Court Judge
Lim Tuang Liang1991Former Chief of Air Force, Singapore Armed Forces
Lai Chung Han1992Permanent Secretary (Development), Ministry of Education
Chong Tow ChongProvost, Singapore University of Technology and Design
Brandon LeeCEO, Council for Private Education
Tan Kai Hoe1985Former Chief of Staff, Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN)
Wong Tien YinVice Dean, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School
Goh Si Hou1997Chief of Army, Singapore Armed Forces
Aaron BengChief of Navy, Singapore Armed Forces
Private Sector
Kwa Geok ChooFormer Lawyer
Mohamed Ismail bin Ibrahim1968First Malay President's Scholar.
Ho Ching1972CEO, Temasek Holdings
Lee Hsien Yang1976Former CEO of Singapore Telecommunications Limited.
Ang Peng Tiam1977Medical Director and Senior Consultant, Parkway Cancer Centre
Shaun SeowCEO, MediaCorp
Alan ChanFormer CEO, Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Low Sin LengExecutive Chairman, Sembcorp Development
Gan Juay Kiat1976Former CEO, SBS Transit

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References

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