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Goh Chok Tong (simplified Chinese: 吴作栋; traditional Chinese: 吳作棟; pinyin: Wú Zuòdòng; Hokkien POJ: Gô· Chok-tòng; born May 20, 1941) is the Senior Minister of Singapore and the chairman of the central bank of Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He also served as the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from November 28, 1990 to August 12, 2004, succeeding Lee Kuan Yew.
[edit] Early lifeHis father was from Min Nan Yongchun, Quanzhou, Goh was born into a Singapore Hokkien family.[1][2][3] Goh studied at Raffles Institution from 1955 to 1960. He was said to have been a very competitive swimmer in his younger days. In his student days, he was given the nickname Bald.[citation needed] He earned a First Class Honours (Bachelor of Arts) in economics from the National University of Singapore (then known as the University of Singapore), a Master of Arts in Development Economics from Williams College in the United States in 1967. After his studies, Goh returned to Singapore to serve in the Administrative Service.[4] [edit] Career at Neptune Orient Lines, 1969 to 1977In 1969, Goh was seconded to the Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) as a Planning and Projects Manager. His career advanced quickly and by 1973, he became the Managing Director and led NOL to achieve impressive financial results during his tenure. [4] [edit] Early political career In the 1976 Singapore general election, at the age of thirty-five, Goh was elected as Member of Parliament for Marine Parade constituency, as a People's Action Party (PAP) candidate. He was appointed a Senior Minister of State for Finance. In 1981, he was promoted to be the Minister for Trade and Industry. He later also served in other appointments including Minister for Health and Minister for Defence. [5] In 1985, Goh became the First Deputy Prime Minister and began to assume the responsibility of the government in a carefully managed leadership transition. According to Lee Kuan Yew, his preferred successor was Tony Tan; however Goh was selected by the second generation of PAP leaders that included Tony Tan, S Dhanabalan, and Ong Teng Cheong, and Lee accepted their decision. [4] [edit] Prime Minister, 1990 to 2004 On November 28, 1990, Goh became the second Prime Minister of Singapore, taking over from Lee Kuan Yew. Lee remained an influential member of his Cabinet, holding the post of Senior Minister. Goh was initially written off by critics as a weak, transitionary figure, and a seat-warmer for Lee Hsien Loong. Nonetheless, the 1991 general elections, the first electoral test for Goh, led to the party winning 61% of the popular vote. In 1992, Lee Kuan Yew handed over to Goh the post of Secretary General of People's Action Party, successfully completing the leadership transition. As Prime Minister, Goh promised a more open-minded and consultative style of leadership compared to his predecessor. His administration introduced several major policies and policy institutions, including:
During the period under Goh's administration, Singapore experienced several crises, such as the 1997 Asian financial crisis, threats of terrorism including the 2001 plot to bomb embassies in Singapore by Jemaah Islamiyah, 2001 to 2003 economic recession, and the 2003 SARS outbreak. As Secretary General, Goh led the PAP to three general election victories in 1991, 1997, and 2001, in which the party won 61%, 65% and 75% of the votes respectively. After the general election in 2001, Goh indicated that he would step down as Prime Minister after leading the country out of the recession. [4] During an interview with Time Magazine in July 2003, Goh surprised his nation by announcing that his Government is now openly employing gays, even in sensitive jobs. This is despite homosexual acts remaining illegal under Section 377A of the Penal Code (Singapore).[6] His announcement drew a strong backlash from self-proclaimed conservatives of the island nation, but nevertheless reinforced Goh's image as an open-minded leader. However some political commentators see Goh's tenure to be not as open-minded as it promised to be, citing the Catherine Lim debate behind her article, The PAP and the people - A Great Affective Divide, which was not well received by the Prime Minister's office. [edit] Senior Minister, 2004 to present On August 12, 2004, Goh stepped down as Prime Minister and began service as Senior Minister in Lee Hsien Loong's Cabinet. On August 20, 2004, Goh assumed the post of Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.[1] After a number of threats of Islamist terrorism in Singapore, Goh met local Islamic religious leaders in 2004, and made a visit to Iran, where he met the Iranian president, Mohammad Khatami, and visited local mosques. The Straits Times speculated that this was meant to develop relationships between Singapore and Iran. Goh subsequently visited other Middle-Eastern countries as Senior Minister, with a view to improving diplomatic relationships and thus gaining wider business opportunities for Singaporean businessmen, especially in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait. On February 1, 2005, Goh was appointed an honorary Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), Australia's highest civilian honour, "for eminent service to Australia/Singapore relations".[7] On May 19, 2005, Goh signed a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement with Israel's Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his visit to Israel. A previous agreement was signed in 1971. Improvements in the agreement include enhancements to the withholding tax rate on interest income, which was reduced from 15% to 7%. This would benefit Singaporean businessmen with investments in Israel and vice versa, by ensuring they are not taxed twice. Goh also discussed for an agreement to recognise each other's certification standards, so as to ease the flow of goods between the two countries. He currently is a patron for the Institute of Policy Studies, a government think tank. In the Singapore general election, 2006, Goh was tasked to help the PAP win back the two opposition wards of Hougang and Potong Pasir.[2] However, he was unsuccessful in this task, as Low Thia Khiang and Chiam See Tong retained their respective wards. In 2006, Goh was briefly considered for the job as United Nations Secretary-General. The job eventually went to Ban Ki-moon [3] [4]. [edit] Family
Goh is married to Tan Choo Leng and they have a twin son and daughter. Their son, Goh Jin Hian, is a medical doctor at Mount Elizabeth Hospital while their daughter, Goh Jin Theng, is in London with her English husband, Lee Craven. [edit] References
Impressions of the Goh Chok Tong Years in Singapore, Bridget Welsh, James Chin, Arun Mahizhnan and Tan Tarn How (Editors), Singapore: NUS Press, 2009 [edit] External links
Categories: Prime Ministers of Singapore | Members of the Cabinet of Singapore | Singaporean Members of Parliament | People's Action Party (Singapore) politicians | Companions of the Order of Australia | National University of Singapore alumni | Williams College alumni | Chinese Singaporeans | Hokkien Singaporeans | Overseas Chinese politicians | 1941 births | Living people | 21st-century heads of government in Asia | 20th-century heads of government in Asia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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