Lim Swee Say

Lim Swee Say (林瑞生, born July 13, 1954) is the Minister in the Prime Minister's Office of Singapore and the Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress. He is an elected Member of Parliament for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC. His past ministerial portfolio includes being Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology and Minister of State for Trade and Industry.

Early life

Lim received his early education at Catholic High School and National Junior College. In 1973, he was awarded a Singapore Armed Forces (UK) Scholarship to study Electronics, Computer and Systems Engineering at Loughborough University. He graduated with a First Class Honours degree in 1976. He then went on to complete a Master's Degree in Management at Stanford University.

Professional life

Lim has a long association with the development of the IT sector in Singapore since the 1970s. He served as the Chief Executive from 1986 to 1991 and Chairman of National Computer Board (NCB) from 1994 to 1998. In his tenure at NCB, he led the development and implementation of Singapore's National IT policy and IT 2000 Masterplan to transform Singapore into an IT hub.

Lim was also engaged in the economic development of Singapore in the 1990s. He worked five years with the Economic Development Board, first as Deputy Managing Director based in New York City from 1991 to 1993, then as Managing Director from 1994 to 1996. From 1997-98, he was a member of the Committee on Singapore's Competitiveness tasked to develop plans to transform Singapore into a Knowledge Based Economy in the 21st Century. He chaired its Sub-committee on Manpower Development.

Politics

In 1996, Lim joined the People's Action Party (PAP) and became involved with the labour movement. He served as Deputy Secretary-General of the National Trade Union Congress from 1997 to 1999. Subsequently, he was appointed Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology and Minister of State for Trade and Industry in June 1999. He became Acting Minister for the Environment in October 2000 and Minister for the Environment in November 2001. On August 12, 2004, Lim was appointed Minister in the Prime Minister Office and Second Minister for National Development. He serves concurrently as Deputy Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress. He relinquished the appointment of Second Minister for National Development on October 1, 2005 to serve full time in the labour movement. Mr Lim has been a member of the PAP Central Executive Committee since 1999, and chaired the Young PAP from 2000 to 2004. He is the Member of Parliament for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC.

Personal life

Lim is married to Elaine Cheong Siew Boon and they have a daughter and a son.

References

* [http://www.cabinet.gov.sg/CabinetAppointments/Mr+Lim+Swee+Say.htm Lim Swee Say] - Singapore Cabinet Biography