Commemorating Singapore's 9th President - Tharman Shanmugaratnam
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Tharman Shanmugaratnam
President of the Republic of Singapore
Tharman Shanmugaratnam was elected as Singapore’s President in September 2023.
He served in politics for 22 years before resigning to contest in the Presidential Election; the President, as Head of State, holds a non-partisan office in Singapore’s system of governance.
Tharman was Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister for several years, and Education Minister earlier. He last served in government as Senior Minister. He has been committed through his years to building economic resilience and a more inclusive social compact. On the latter, he has been especially engaged in sustaining social mobility, improving jobs for lower-income workers, and making life-long learning a reality for all. He has also sought to deepen and advance Singapore’s model of multiculturalism.
He introduced major educational reforms while serving as Education Minister, aimed at achieving a broader and more flexible system of meritocracy. He later led the ‘SkillsFuture’ programme, which was launched in 2014. He also chaired the tripartite councils from 2011 to 2016 which drove national efforts to transform productivity through innovation and skills, and the implementation of industry-specific transformation programmes. More recently, he chaired the National Jobs Council (2020-2022), which oversaw efforts to rebuild jobs for Singaporeans in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tharman has spent his entire working life in public service. He was Senior Minister (2019-2023), Deputy Prime Minister (2011-2019), Minister for Finance (2007-2015), Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies (2011-2015) and Minister for Education (2003-2008).
He also served as Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Singapore’s central bank and financial regulator, from 2011 to 2023. He had begun his professional career as an economist at the MAS, eventually becoming its Managing Director, before he entered politics in 2001.
Tharman also served as Deputy Chairman of the GIC for four years (2019-2023) and as Chairman of its Investment Strategies Committee for 12 years (2011-2023). He was on the GIC Board for over 19 years.
He chaired the Economic Development Board (EDB)’s International Advisory Council (IAC) from 2014, and the International Academic Advisory Panel (IAAP), which advises the Government on strategies for university sector, from 2011. He stepped off both councils when he resigned from all his government appointments in July 2023.
