Wong Kan Seng (born 8 September 1946) is a Singaporean former politician who served as the fifth Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, from 2005 to 2011. Currently, he is the chairman of both UOB Bank (since 2017) and CapitaLand Group (since 2021).
As a member of Singapore's governing People's Action Party (PAP), Wong served in the Cabinet as Minister for Community Development between 1987 and 1991, Leader of the House between 1987 and 2007, Minister for Foreign Affairs between 1988 and 1994, Minister for Home Affairs between 1994 and 2010, Deputy Prime Minister between 2005 and 2011, and Coordinating Minister for National Security between 2010 and 2011. He continued to serve as a Member of Parliament on the backbenches until 2015.
As a Member of Parliament, Wong represented the constituency of Kuo Chuan Single Member Constituency between 1984 and 1988, the Bishan East division of Thomson Group Representation Constituency between 1991 and 1997, and the Bishan–Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency between 1997 and 2015.
Contents
Education
Wong attended Rangoon Road Primary School, Outram Secondary School and the Adult Education Board (now the Institute of Technical Education) before graduating from the University of Singapore (now the National University of Singapore) in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honours in both history and English.
Wong subsequently completed a Master of Science degree in business studies at the London Business School in 1979 under a postgraduate scholarship conferred by the Singapore Government when he was a civil servant.
Career
Prior to entering politics, Wong had worked in both the Civil Service and the private sector. He worked in the Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Defence, before joining Hewlett Packard in 1981 as a personnel manager and left in 1985 for politics.
Political career
Wong made his political debut in the 1984 Singaporean general election as a candidate for PAP contesting in Kuo Chuan Constituency and won. In 1988, Kuo Chuan Constituency was merged into Toa Payoh GRC and Wong contested the GRC as part of a PAP team. The GRC was uncontested and Wong was elected MP. He then contested in Thomson GRC during the 1991 general election before switching to Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC in the 1997 general election.
Wong had also served as Leader of the House between 1991 and 2007.
Wong was appointed Acting Minister for Community Development in 1986. He was made a full member of the Cabinet as Minister for Community Development by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew in 1987. He was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs in 1988.
Wong was vocal in his capacity as a Cabinet minister when it comes to defending any criticisms of the PAP as being authoritarian, or that the political process was undemocratic with an advantage given to the governing party. He often described the opposition as being disorganised, weak and driven by self-interests."The public has no sympathy for them. Neither do I. Why should I? I mean, they mess it up."On opposition politician J. B. Jeyaretnam's proposal to establish an independent elections commission, Wong remarked, "It is absurd. I think we cannot be more democratic than we are now. We even allow a loser to be in Parliament and make speeches attacking the government. Where could you find such a democracy in other countries?"
During the World Conference on Human Rights held in 1993, Wong argued that democracy was interpreted differently in Singapore. He claims that its citizens "do not agree that pornography is an acceptable manifestation of free expression or that homosexual relationships are just a matter of lifestyle choice." Wong also believe that excessive emphasis on individual rights over the rights of the community will retard progress.
In 1994, Wong became Minister for Home Affairs. As Minister for Home Affairs, Wong was in charge of overseeing emergency planning, dealing with internal threats such as cults and terrorists, involved in law and order, and rooting out of criminals and illegal immigrants.
Professional career
Wong returned to the private sector after stepping down from the Cabinet.
Wong was appointed Chairman of Singbridge International, a Temasek Holdings unit dealing with the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City, in 2011.
Wong was appointed Non-Executive and Independent Director on the board of directors at the United Overseas Bank (UOB) in 2017 and was subsequently appointed chairman in 2018. He is also holding the positions of chairman of the executive committee and Member of the Board Risk Management Committee, Nominating Committee and Remuneration and Human Capital Committee at UOB.
Wong was appointed as an independent director of CapitaLand in July 2017 and serving as CapitaLand Group chairman by 2021.
Personal life
Wong is of Cantonese descent. He is married to Ruth Lee Hong Geok and they have two children.