Lim Swee Say
Lim Swee Say (Chinese: 林瑞生; pinyin: Lín Ruìshēng; born 1954) is a retired Singaporean politician. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he was a Member of Parliament representing the Group Representation Cons*uencies (GRCs) of Tanjong Pagar (1997–2001), Holland–Bukit Panjang (2001–2006) Holland–Bukit Timah (2006–2011) and East Coast (2011–2020) at different points in time throughout his political career. He held positions in the Cabinet from 2000 to 2018, including Minister for the Environment (2000–2004), Second Minister for National Development (2004–2005), Minister in the Prime Minister's Office (2004–2015), and Minister for Manpower (2015–2018). He was also the secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress from 2005 to 2015.
Contents
- 1 Early career
- 2 Political career
- 2.1 Early political career
- 2.2 Minister in Prime Minister's Office (2004-2015)
- 2.3 Minister for Manpower (2015 - 2018)
- 2.4 Retirement from politics
- 3 Post-political career
- 4 Education
- 5 Personal life
- 6 References
- 7 External links
Early career
Lim served at Singapore's National Computer Board as Chief Executive from 1986 to 1991, and as Chairman from 1994 to 1998. He also served at the Economic Development Board (EDB) as Deputy Managing Director based in New York City from 1991 to 1993, and as Managing Director from 1994 to 1996.
Political career
Early political career
At the 1997 general election, Lim was a PAP candidate in the Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Cons*uency (GRC), led by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, and was elected in a walkover. He was on the PAP's team in Holland–Bukit Panjang GRC at the 2001 general election, and in Holland–Bukit Timah GRC at the 2006 general election, and was elected unopposed on both occasions. At the 2011 general election, Lim stood in East Coast GRC, where the PAP's team defeated the team from the opposition Workers' Party by 59,992 votes (54.8%) to 49,429 (45.2%).
Lim served as Deputy Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) from 1997 to 1999. He also served on the Committee on Singapore's Compe*iveness from 1997 to 1998, and chaired its Sub-committee on Manpower Development.
In 1999, Lim was appointed a Minister of State at the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts.
Lim was made a member of the PAP's Central Executive Committee in 1999 and served as the Chairman of the Young PAP (the party's youth wing) from 2000 to 2004.
Lim was made the Acting Minister for the Environment on 1 October 2000. He became a full member of the Cabinet on 23 November 2001.
Minister in Prime Minister's Office (2004-2015)
On 12 August 2004, Lim was appointed a Minister in the Prime Minister's Office. He also served as the Second Minister for National Development from 12 August 2004 to 29 May 2006.
In 2005, Lim became the Deputy Secretary-General of the NTUC for the second time (while continuing to serve concurrently as a Minister without portfolio in the Prime Minister's Office). In 2007, he was made the Secretary-General of the NTUC.
In 2014, Lim appeared on Singapore's Mediacorp Channel 8 episode "Hear Me Out", to respond to the criticisms against him and clarify himself on a few topics such as his Zorro costume, "Cheaper Better Faster", "Better, Betterer, Betterest", "Deaf Frog" and why Singapore implements Progressive Wage Model instead of minimum wage.
Minister for Manpower (2015 - 2018)
On 4 May 2015, Lim relinquished his post of Minister in Prime Minister's Office and NTUC secretary-general (in line with the NTUC's retirement policies) and was appointed the Minister for Manpower.
Lim retired from the cabinet on 1 May 2018, with his Manpower portfolio succeeded to Josephine Teo. On 5 May, Lim was awarded the Distinguished Comrade of Labour during the May Day Awards ceremony.
Retirement from politics
In 2020, Lim would be retiring from politics, and not stand for the 2020 Singaporean general election and was succeeded by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat.
Post-political career
Lim was appointed as a non-executive independent director in Singtel in 2021.
Education
Lim was educated in Catholic High School and National Junior College, before being awarded a Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Scholarship in 1973 to study in the United Kingdom at Loughborough University.
In 1976, he graduated with first cl* honours in electronics, computer and systems engineering.
In 1991, Lim completed a master's degree in Management at Stanford University.
Personal life
Lim was married to Elaine Cheong Siew Boon in 1981, a relationship that was introduced by a mutual friend. The couple had one daughter and one son. He is a Roman Catholic and attends Church of the Holy Spirit in Upper Thomson, Singapore.
Cheong died on 6 July 2021, after battling stage 4 cancer since 2017.
References
External links
- Lim Swee Say at cabinet.gov.sg
- Lim Swee Say at parliament.gov.sg
NMPs do not belong to any party. There were two terms of NMPs in this parliament, with nine NMPs in each term.Other Current/Former MPs Nav Boxes1413121110The party affiliation of each member is indicated right after the cons*uency he or she represents. PAP: People's Action Party; SPP: Singapore People's Party; WP: The Workers' Party
For NCMPs, Gerald Giam and Yee Jenn Jong are from the WP, while Lina Loh is from the SPP. NMPs do not belong to any party. There were two terms of NMPs in this parliament, with nine NMPs in each term.Other Current/Former MPs Nav Boxes1413121110The party affiliation of each member is indicated right after the cons*uency he or she represents. PAP: People's Action Party; SDA: Singapore Democratic Alliance; WP: The Workers' Party
NMPs do not belong to any party. There were two terms of NMPs in this parliament, with nine NMPs in each term.Other Current/Former MPs Nav Boxes1413121110