Richard Hu

Richard Hu Tsu Tau (simplified Chinese: 胡赐道; traditional Chinese: 胡賜道; pinyin: Hú Cì Dào, born 30 October 1926) is a former People's Action Party (PAP) politician in Singapore. He served as the Minister for Finance for 16 years from 1985 to 2001, and was also a Director of Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Pte Ltd. He is the son of doctor Hu Tsai Kuen.

Richard Hu Tsu Tau
胡赐道
Minister for Finance
In office
2 January 1985 – 10 November 2001
Prime MinisterLee Kuan Yew
Goh Chok Tong
Preceded byTony Tan
Succeeded byLee Hsien Loong
Personal details
Born
Richard Hu Tsu Tau

(1926-10-30) 30 October 1926
Singapore, Straits Settlements
Spouse(s)Irene Tan Dee Leng
Children2
ParentsHu Tsai Kuen
In this Chinese name, the family name is Hu.

Early life

Dr Richard Hu Tsu Tau was educated at the Anglo-Chinese School. In 1952, Hu obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of California in the United States and subsequently pursued a postgraduate diploma and a doctorate degree in Chemical Engineering, both from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.[1]

Career

Hu joined the Royal Dutch Shell Group of Companies in 1960 and rose to the position of Chairman and Chief Executive of this global company in Singapore between 1977 and 1983.[2]

In 1983, Hu became the Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), holding both posts concurrently until 1984. He was chairman of Monetary Authority of Singapore from 1985 to 1997.[3]

Hu contested as a People's Action Party candidate in the Kreta Ayer Single Member Constituency[4] in 1984 General Elections and won the election. Following the elections, he became the Minister for Health for two years from 1985 to 1987 and the Minister of Finance[5] for 16 years from 1985 to 2001.[6] As the Minister for Finance, Hu is perhaps best known by his signature on the 'Ship' series of legal tender notes issued after his appointment.[7] He also introduced the Goods and Services Tax in 1993. As part of deregulation and reform of its financial and banking sectors, Hu oversaw the privatisation of the government-run Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) and the sale of POSB to the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) in 1998.[8]

On April 13, 2004, Hu joined the Board of Singaporean property development company CapitaLand and was elected Chairman the same day, until his retirement in 2012.[9] He was also the Chairman of GIC Real Estate Pte Ltd[10] and Asia Financial Holdings Pte Ltd, as well as a Director of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC)[11] and a Director of Buildfolio.Com.Inc Hu also served as the Chancellor of the Singapore Management University from July 2002 to August 2010.[12]

In 2013, Hu was appointed as senior advisor of the Fraser and Neave board.[13]

Family

Hu is married to Irene Tan Dee Leng, and has one son (Jeremy) and one daughter (Geraldine). He is a Hakka Chinese.

References
  1. migration (4 March 2016). "Heng Swee Keat to present Budget 2016: Who were the finance ministers before him?". Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  2. "Management Team | Barghest Building Performance". Archived from the original on 2014-04-26. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
  3. "Our History". www.mas.gov.sg.
  4. "Official Reports". Parliament of Singapore. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  5. Tesoro, Jose Manuel. "SINGAPORE Keeping Up the Pace". Asiaweek. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  6. "History". Ministry of Finance. Government of Singapore. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  7. "Note Facts". The Singapore Mint. The Singapore Mint. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  8. "National Archives of Singapore". Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  9. "CapitaLand chairman Richard Hu to step down". Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  10. "Richard Hu Tsu Tau Ph.D." Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  11. Lee, Meixian. "Richard Hu to retire from GIC board". Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  12. http://www.smu.edu.sg/news_room/press_releases/2010/20100831.asp Singapore Management University : Mr Yong Pung How appointed new Chancellor of SMU
  13. "F&N: Appoints Dr. Richard Hu As Senior Adviser To The Board". Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Business Times. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
Political offices
Preceded by
Tony Tan		 Minister for Finance
1985–2001		 Succeeded by
Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by
Howe Yoon Chong		 Minister for Health
1985–1987		 Succeeded by
Yeo Cheow Tong
Preceded by
S Dhanabalan		 Minister for National Development
1 Sep 1992-1993		 Succeeded by
Lim Hng Kiang
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