Tan Chuan-Jin

Tan Chuan-Jin (simplified Chinese: 陈川仁; traditional Chinese: 陳川仁; pinyin: Chén Chuānrén; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tân Chhoan-jîn; born 10 January 1969) is a Singaporean politician. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he was appointed as the 10th Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. He was elected as the People's Action Party Central Executive Committee member.


Tan Chuan-Jin

陈川仁
10th Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore
Assumed office
11 September 2017
PresidentHalimah Yacob
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Deputy
Preceded byHalimah Yacob
ConstituencyMarine Parade GRC
Minister for Social and Family Development
In office
4 May 2015  10 September 2017
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded byChan Chun Sing
Succeeded byDesmond Lee
Minister for Manpower
(Acting : 1 August 2012–30 April 2014)
In office
1 May 2014  4 May 2015
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded byTharman Shanmugaratnam
Succeeded byLim Swee Say
Senior Minister of State,
Ministry for National Development
In office
1 August 2012  31 August 2013
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
MinisterKhaw Boon Wan
Member of the Singapore Parliament
for Marine Parade GRC
(Kembangan-Chai Chee)
Assumed office
7 May 2011
Preceded byPosition established
Personal details
Born (1969-01-10) 10 January 1969
Singapore
NationalitySingaporean
Political partyPeople's Action Party
Children2
Alma mater
Military service
AllegianceSingapore
Branch/serviceSingapore Army
Years of service1987–2011
Rank Brigadier-General
Commands

He served as the Minister for Manpower from May 2014 to May 2015 and the Minister for Social and Family Development from May 2015 to September 2017 after his nomination as the Parliament speakership upon the resignation of Halimah Yacob for the Singaporean presidency.

He has also served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Marine Parade GRC for Kembangan-Chai Chee since May 2011.[1] Before entering politics, he served in the Singapore Army, rising to the rank of Brigadier-General.

On 5 September 2017, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced he will nominate Tan as the next Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore. Tan's new role comes following the resignation of Halimah Yacob as Speaker to contest in the Presidential Elections 2017. He was formally elected on 11 September 2017 as Singapore's 10th Speaker of Parliament.

Tan is also the President of the Singapore National Olympic Council, a position which he has held since 2014.[2]

Career

Military career

In 1987, Tan joined the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). He went on to hold the positions of Commanding Officer of 3rd Guards Battalion, Army Attaché in Jakarta, Commander of the 7th Singapore Infantry Brigade, Assistant Chief of the General Staff (Plans), Commander of 3rd Division, and Commander of the Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), and rose to the rank of Brigadier-General.[3][4]

Following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tan served as the commander of the SAF's Humanitarian Assistance Task Force in Meulaboh, Indonesia.[5][6]

In 2009, Tan served as the Chairman of the Executive Committee for Singapore's National Day Parade.

On 25 March 2011, Tan left the SAF in order to stand for Parliament.

Political career

Tan stood as a PAP candidate in the Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency, led by former prime minister Goh Chok Tong at the 2011 general election. The PAP's team in the constituency defeated the team from the opposition National Solidarity Party, by 78,286 votes (56.65%) to 59,926 (43.35%). Tan has since served as the MP responsible for the Kembangan-Chai Chee ward.

On 21 May 2011, Tan was appointed a Minister of State at the Ministry of Manpower and Ministry of National Development.

On 1 May 2014, Tan was made a member of the Cabinet and assumed the role of Minister for Manpower.[7]

At Ministry of Manpower, Chuan-Jin championed low income workers, as he introduced the progressive wage model and led Government efforts to protect these workers and improve their lives.

As Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of National Development (MND), Chuan-Jin built good rapport with the heritage, nature, environmental and animal welfare groups. He involved them in working out solutions for the Rail Corridor and Bukit Brown. Other collaborations resulted in Singapore first Marine Park and amendments to the Animal and Birds Act. Chuan-Jin continues to advise MND informally on environmental and animal welfare issues.[8]

On 4 May 2015, Tan relinquished his role as Minister for Manpower and became the Minister for Social and Family Development as part of a Cabinet reshuffle.[9]

As Minister for Social and Family Development (MSF), Chuan-Jin has taken a deep interest in social issues, and in helping the needy and disadvantaged. He launched many initiatives, e.g. KidStart for children of disadvantaged families, and SG Cares to encourage Singaporeans to give back to society. These programmes will deepen our social capital and help build a more gracious, compassionate and cohesive society.

Lee Hsien Loong has asked him to maintain his interest in environmental and social issues, and his concern for the needy and disadvantaged. Chuan-Jin has agreed to continue advising MND on these issues, and to oversee SG Cares, after he becomes Speaker. To complement this, he will be appointed Advisor to NCSS Singapore. Naturally, Chuan-Jin will continue to lead Marine Parade GRC.

Chuan-Jin is also the President to the Singapore National Olympic Council. This is an elected post, not a Government appointment. He will keep on leading and inspiring Singapore ‘s sporting fraternity, as he did recently at the SEA Games.[8]

On 11 September 2017, Tan relinquished his role as Minister for Social and Family Development and was elected as the 10th Speaker of Singapore Parliament.[10]

Education

Tan was educated at Anglo-Chinese School and Raffles Junior College. In 1988, he was awarded an SAF Overseas Scholarship to study in the United Kingdom, where he completed a BSc (Econ) degree at the London School of Economics and a Master of Arts degree in Defence Studies at King's College London.[11]

In 2008, he completed a Master in Public Management degree at the National University of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

Personal life

Tan is married with two children. He is an avid photographer and enjoys reading, watching movies and football.

References

  1. "Singapore Election Department : Gazette Notification on Candidates declared to have been elected Members of Parliament (2011)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 June 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  2. "SNOC New Executive Committee Elected". Archived from the original on 18 May 2015.
  3. "Reaching Out Operation Flying Eagle" (PDF). Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  4. "cyberpioneer - News - 3 Div gets new commander (21 Jan 08)". Mindef.gov.sg. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  5. "News - Update on SAF Relief Operations (08 Jan 05)". MINDEF. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  6. "Parting Shot: Reflections from BG Tan Chuan-Jin". Mindef.gov.sg. Archived from the original on 12 March 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  7. "Tan and Wong promoted to full Minister". Channel NewsAsia. 29 April 2014. Archived from the original on 1 May 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  8. "Tan Chuan-Jin still doesn't know why he was appointed Speaker of Parliament". Mothership.sg. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  9. "Cabinet reshuffle: Tan Chuan-Jin to helm MSF; Lim Swee Say to be Manpower Minister". Archived from the original on 29 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  10. "Tan Chuan-Jin becomes Singapore's 10th Speaker of Parliament". Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  11. "Mr TAN Chuan-Jin". Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
Political offices
Preceded by
Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Minister for Manpower
2012 – 2015
Succeeded by
Lim Swee Say
Preceded by
Chan Chun Sing
Minister for Social and Family Development
2015 – 2017
Succeeded by
Desmond Lee
Parliament of Singapore
Preceded by
Ong Seh Hong
as MP (Kampong Ubi-Kembangan)
Member of Parliament for
Marine Parade GRC (Kembangan-Chai Chee)

2011 – present
Incumbent
Preceded by
Halimah Yacob
Speaker of Parliament
2017 – present
Incumbent
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