Tony Tan
Tony Tan Keng Yam is a Singaporean banker and politician who served as the seventh president of Singapore between 2011 and 2017 after winning the 2011 presidential election.
Prior to entering politics, Tan was a general manager at OCBC Bank. He made his political debut in the 1979 by-elections as a People's Action Party candidate contesting in Sembawang Group Representation Constituency and won. He later served as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore from 1995 to 2005. After resigning from the cabinet in 2005, Tan was appointed deputy chairman and executive director of GIC, chairman of the National Research Foundation, and chairman of Singapore Press Holdings. He stepped down from all his positions in 2010 before contesting the 2011 presidential election as an independent candidate.
Tan won the 2011 presidential election in a four-way fight and served as the president of Singapore until 2017. He did not seek re-election in the 2017 presidential election, which was reserved for Malay candidates following a constitutional amendment. He officially retired on 1 September 2017 at the end of his presidential term. He was succeeded by Halimah Yacob on 14 September 2017.
Early life and education
Tan was born on 7 February 1940 in Singapore, to Tan Seng Hwee and Jessie Lim Neo Swee. He received his early education at St Patrick's School from 1947 to 1956 and continued at St Joseph's Institution from 1957 to 1958. In 1962, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science with first class honours in physics from the University of Singapore, now known as the National University of Singapore, under a scholarship awarded by the Singapore government. He later completed a Master of Science in operations research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, supported by the Asia Foundation Scholarship. Tan returned to Singapore for a year to teach in the physics department at NUS before pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy in applied mathematics at the University of Adelaide, supported by a research scholarship. He completed his doctoral degree in 1967 with the dissertation title, 'Mathematical Modelling for Commuter Traffic in Cities.'Early political career
Returning to Singapore, Tan began his career as a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics at NUS. In 1969, he left academia to work in OCBC Bank as a sub-manager and rose to become a general manager. He quit the bank in 1979 to enter politics. Tan was elected as Member of Parliament for Sembawang following his victory in the 1979 by-elections. Later in 1979, he was appointed Senior Minister of State for Education. On 1 June 1980, as part of the transition to Singapore's second generation of leaders in a cabinet reshuffle, Tan was appointed Minister for Education. Unlike typical political announcements, the reshuffle was carried out quietly, without farewells or media fanfare. When asked, S. Rajaratnam made it explicit that Tan and S. Dhanabalan's appointments were all part of a broad plan to nurture and experiment with the next generation leaders. Tan was also the Vice-Chancellor of NUS from 1980 to 1981.Following this, Tan held some key ministerial roles as Minister for Trade and Industry between 1981 and 1986, Minister for Finance between 1983 and 1985, and Minister for Health between 1985 and 1986. At this time, he lobbied for a reduction in the Central Provident Fund contributions, a move Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew had previously indicated would only be undertaken if there were an economic crisis. In his role as Minister for Trade and Industry, Tan was most concerned with how foreign investors would react to a deterioration in labour relations, which would have a negative effect on foreign direct investment. In 1981, he was also against the proposed timing of the Mass Rapid Transit project, which was mooted by Ong Teng Cheong. Tan argued that the local construction sector was already overheated and believed that public housing development should take precedence. Responding to public discontent, Tan later scrapped a controversial policy that gave priority in primary school admission to children of better-educated mothers. This move was widely believed to have contributed to the PAP's poor showing in the 1984 general election.
As minister for education from January 1985, Tan led major reforms to modernise Singapore's education system. He promoted English proficiency, bilingualism, and values education, while introducing flexible student placement, greater school autonomy, and expanded access to higher education. His key achievements included the Gifted Education Programme, the shift to English as the main instructional language, single-session schooling, and efforts to address teacher shortages through better pay and training. On 9 March 1985, Tan officially opened the Singapore Petrochemical Complex at Pulau Ayer Merbau. Later that month, Tan cancelled the Graduate Mothers' Priority Scheme, a source of controversy, stating that it was not very likely to be able to achieve its hoped-for effect of encouraging additional births for graduate mothers but had instead created public resentment in large numbers.
Tan also launched the independent schools scheme, a few already existing schools were granted greater independence in matters of staff recruitment, finance, management, and curriculum. Tan introduced the independent school scheme to raise educational standards by allowing top schools greater autonomy to attract top talent and serve as models for others. Launched in 1988, the initiative expanded school choice, promoted innovation, and aligned with meritocratic principles, while also reducing public spending by shifting more education costs to families.
Tan was also known to have opposed the shipping industry strike in January 1986, the first for about a decade in Singapore, which was sanctioned by fellow Cabinet minister, Ong, who is also Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress, felt the strike was necessary. He was reportedly angered by the 1986 strike led by then NTUC secretary-general Ong. Although the government had strict controls over union activity and discouraged confrontation, Ong believed that existing mechanisms did not adequately protect workers from management exploitation. His decision to support the strike drew criticism from Tan and other officials, who were concerned about the impact on Singapore's international reputation. Tan and his officers were reportedly alarmed by the reaction from foreign investors, including calls from the United States asking what had occurred. Despite the backlash, the strike lasted only two days, with all issues resolved swiftly. Ong cited this outcome as evidence that management had been acting unfairly.
Tan resigned from Goh Chok Tong's cabinet in December 1991 to resume private sector work, and rejoined OCBC Bank as chairman and chief executive officer from 1992 to 1995, remaining an MP for Sembawang GRC. After Ong's cancer diagnosis in 1992 and Lee Hsien Loong's in 1993, Tan was recalled to cabinet in August 1995 as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence. Tan explained ASEAN regional security policy as consisting of each nation building up its own defence and national resilience, as well as strengthening bilateral defence ties with other member states. He declined a proposed make-up pay, intended to offset ministers' pay lost upon leaving the private sector. Tan said that "the interests of Singapore must take precedence over that of a bank and my own personal considerations."
Tan resigned as Defence Minister in August 2003 and became Coordinating Minister for Security and Defence, but still served as Deputy Prime Minister. As Sembawang MP, he managed to persuade Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan to abandon plans to tear down the historic mosque in his constituency. Now dubbed the "Last Kampung Mosque in Singapore," the site was later accorded heritage site status. Tan also opposed the opening of integrated resorts with casinos, joining a few colleagues in voicing concern. Responding to a government survey that estimated 55,000 potential problem gamblers, Tan expressed strong disapproval at how the figure was downplayed, stating: "I don't think it's insignificant. Every Singaporean is important. Every Singaporean that gets into trouble means one family that is destroyed. It cannot be a matter of small concern to the Government."
Prime Minister Lee had considered Tan his heir apparent, but Tan rejected him. Lee praised Tan for his shrewd mind and firm decision-making and went on to say, "He would say 'yes or no' and he would stick to it." In his capacity as deputy prime minister, Tan contributed to developing Singapore's higher education landscape, most notably by bringing about the creation of Singapore Management University. Tan was insistent in 1997, however, when the government proposed a third university, that it had to differentiate from NUS and the Nanyang Technological University. He envisioned SMU as an institution focused on management, business, and economics, modelled on American universities. To realise this vision, Tan travelled to the United States to explore academic models and potential collaborations. He also engaged Ho Kwon Ping to lead the project. Tan, who had taken charge of university education reforms in the 1990s, was the key driving force behind SMU's establishment as Singapore's first publicly funded autonomous university in 2000.
Tan lead Singapore's "Homefront Security" doctrine after the September 11 attacks, calling for a coordinated, multi-agency approach to address evolving threats and integrate internal and external security efforts. On 19 May 2003, he described the SARS outbreak as "Singapore's 9/11", underscoring the severity of the crisis and its impact on national security. Tan stepped down as Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Security and Defence on 1 September 2005. Following his second retirement from the cabinet, he was appointed Deputy Chairman and Executive Director of GIC, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund. At the same time, he took on several other prominent roles, including Chairman of the National Research Foundation, Deputy Chairman of the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council, and Chairman of SPH. During his tenure at GIC, the fund began taking steps towards greater transparency in response to growing global scrutiny, particularly after its high-profile investments in UBS and Citigroup raised concerns about the influence of sovereign wealth funds.