| Tharman Shanmugaratnam | |
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| Constituency | Jurong GRC (Taman Jurong) |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1 December 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Lee Hsien Loong |
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| In office 1 August 2003 – 1 April 2008 |
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| Preceded by | Teo Chee Hean |
| Succeeded by | Ng Eng Hen |
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Second Minister for Finance
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| In office 2005 – December 2007 |
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| Political party | People's Action Party |
| Spouse(s) | Jane Yumiko Ittogi |
Tharman Shanmugaratnam (Tamil -தர்மன் சண்முகரத்னம்) (simplified Chinese: 尚达曼; pinyin: Shàng Dámàn) is a politician in Singapore. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has been the country's Finance Minister since 2007.[1] He previously served as the Education Minister from 2004 to 2008.[2]
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Early life
Tharman was born in 1957. He is of Sri Lankan Tamil ancestry. He studied at the Anglo-Chinese School, and subsequently obtained a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the London School of Economics. He went on to gain a Master's degree in Economics from Cambridge University, and a Master's degree in Public Administration from Harvard University, where he received a Lucius N. Littauer Fellow award.
Career
Much of Tharman's earlier, professional career was spent at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Singapore’s central bank and financial regulator, where he was the Managing Director before he entered politics in 2001. Till today, he still serves on the Board of MAS, and sits on the Board of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation. He is also Deputy Chairman of the National Research Foundation.
Tharman is also Chairman of the Ong Teng Cheong Institute of Labour Studies, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA). He served for five years as Chairman of the Singapore-Liaoning Economic and Trade Council (SLETC), which was established to advance stronger links between Singapore and Liaoning Province, China. In 1999 he was awarded the Singapore Public Administration Gold Medal.
Legal Charge and Conviction
While serving as economics director in Monetary Authority of Singapore in 1993, Tharman was charged under the Official Secrets Act in a case involving the release of Singapore's 1992 second-quarter flash projections[3] to a research director, Mr Raymond Foo, and economist Manu Bhaskaran, of Crosby Securities, and to journalists Kenneth James and Patrick Daniel of the Business Times.[3]
The OSA case, which stretched over more than a year, was reported extensively in the Singapore press. Tharman contested and was eventually acquitted of the charge of communicating the GDP growth flash projections. Senior District Judge Richard Magnus then introduced a lesser charge of negligence, because the prosecution's case was that the figures were seen on a document that he had with him at a meeting with the private economists which he had attended with one of his colleagues. Tharman contested this lesser charge too, and took to the witness stand for a few days.
The court nevertheless convicted him together with all the others in the case, including the editor of Business Times which published the figures. Tharman was fined S$1,500, and the others S$2,000. As there was no finding that he knowingly communicated any classified information, the case did not pose any hurdle to his subsequent appointment as the Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Political career
Upon entering politics in 2001, Tharman was appointed a Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Education. In August 2003, he was appointed Acting Minister for Education. The following year, he became the Minister for Education. In May 2006, he was also appointed the post of Second Minister for Finance.[4]
In December 2007, Tharman was appointed Minister for Finance. (He continued to concurrently hold the post of Minister for Education until 2008.)[1]
Tharman is also the Deputy Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
In 2002, Tharman was appointed to the Central Executive Committee of the PAP, and is currently its Assistant Treasurer.
Tharman is a Member of Parliament for Jurong GRC.
Private life
Tharman is married to Jane Yumiko Ittogi, a lawyer of Chinese-Japanese parentage.[5] They have four children, three sons and one daughter. All of his children are of school-going age.
References
- ^ a b Asha Popatlal (29 November 2007). "PM Lee to relinquish Finance Minister post, Tharman takes over". Channel News Asia (Singapore). http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/314525/1/.html.
- ^ May Wong (29 March 2008). "PM Lee unveils cabinet changes". Channel News Asia (Singapore). http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/338040/1/.html.
- ^ Michael Richardson (22 October 1993). "Singapore Puts Top Prosecutor On News Leak". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/22/news/22iht-sing_0.html.
- ^ The Government of Singapore (21 June 2006). "The Cabinet - Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam". http://www.cabinet.gov.sg/CabinetAppointments/Mr+Tharman+Shanmugaratnam.htm.
- ^ "Try discipline with love - Acting Education Minister Tharman: My kids, their Mandarin and their future in China". The New Paper (Singapore). 9 June 2004. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/printfriendly/0,4139,64319,00.html&date=2008-01-22. "(The canes) are for his three sons, aged 10, 12 and 13 and an 8-year-old daughter; His lawyer-wife, Madam Jane Yumiko Ittogi, is of Chinese-Japanese parentage and can speak Teochew; Mr Tharman revealed that the Chinese translation of his name, Shang Da Man, was given by a language specialist in 1995."
External links
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Teo Chee Hean |
Minister for Education 2003-2008 |
Succeeded by Ng Eng Hen |
| Preceded by Lee Hsien Loong |
Minister for Finance 2007–present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by None |
Second Minister for Finance 2005-2007 |
Succeeded by None |
| Parliament of Singapore | ||
| Preceded by (new constituency) |
Member of Parliament for Jurong GRC (Taman Jurong) 2001–present |
Incumbent |
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