Tharman Shanmugaratnam

Infobox Minister
name = Tharman Shanmugaratnam


order1 = Minister for Finance
term_start1 = December 01, 2007
term_end1 =
predecessor1 = Lee Hsien Loong
successor1 =

order2 = Minister for Education
term_start2 = August 1, 2003
term_end2 = April 1, 2008
deputy 2 =
predecessor2 = Teo Chee Hean
successor2 = Ng Eng Hen

order3 = Second Minister for Finance
term_start3 = 2005
term_end3 = December 2007
predecessor3 =
successor3 =
birth_date =
birth_place =Singapore
death_date =
death_place =
spouse = Jane Yumiko Ittogi
father =
mother =
constituency =Jurong GRC (Taman Jurong)
party =People's Action Party
languagesspoken =English, Tamil

Tharman Shanmugaratnam (zh-sp|s=尚达曼|p=Shàng Dámàn) was the Minister for Education of Singapore since August 12,2004cite web| title=The Cabinet - Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam| url=http://www.cabinet.gov.sg/CabinetAppointments/Mr+Tharman+Shanmugaratnam.htm| author=The Government of Singapore| date=2006-06-21] till April 1,2008 [cite news| title=PM Lee unveils cabinet changes| url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/338040/1/.html| date=2008-03-29| accessdate=2007-03-29] , and Minister for Finance since December 1, 2007cite news| title=PM Lee to relinquish Finance Minister post, Tharman takes over| url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/314525/1/.html| date=2007-11-29| accessdate=2007-11-29] , having previously been Second Minister for Finance from May 2005. He is also a Member of Parliament for Jurong GRC.

Early life

Tharman was born in 1957, of Sri Lankan Tamil ancestry. He studied at the Anglo-Chinese School and subsequently obtained undergraduate and masters degrees in Economics from the London School of Economics and Cambridge University respectively, and another masters degree in Public Administration from Harvard University, where he received the 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. 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 Co-Chairman of the Singapore-Liaoning Economic and Trade Council (SLETC), which was established in 2003 to advance stronger links between Singapore and Liaoning Province, China. He is Chairman of the Ong Teng Cheong Institute of Labour Studies, and serves as a Life Trustee of the Singapore Indian Development Association. In 1999, he was awarded the Singapore Public Administration Gold Medal.

Arrest and Conviction

While serving as economics director in Monetary Authority of Singapore in 1994, Tharman was charged under the Official Secrets Act for inadvertently releasing Singapore's 1992 second-quarter flash projections to a research director and economist of a securities company and journalists from the Business Times.

Tharmam was convicted by Senior District Judge Richard Magnus and fined SGD$1,500 along with the other men.

Political career

Upon entering politics in 2001, Tharman was appointed 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. Just a year later, he became Minister for Education. In May 2006, he was also appointed the post of Second Minister for Finance.

In December 2007, Tharman was promoted to Minister for Finance, together with his earlier post of Minister for Education. He will hold his Minister for Education post until the Budget Debate and Committee of Supply in 2008 . In 2002, Tharman was appointed to the Central Executive Committee of the PAP, and is currently its Assistant Treasurer. He is also the Deputy Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Private life

Tharman is married to Jane Yumiko Ittogi, a lawyer of Chinese-Japanese parentage. [cite news
title = Try discipline with love - Acting Education Minister Tharman: My kids, their Mandarin and their future in China
url = http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/printfriendly/0,4139,64319,00.html
publisher = The New Paper
location = Singapore
date = 2004-06-09
accessdate = 2008-01-22
archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/printfriendly/0,4139,64319,00.html&date=2008-01-22
archivedate = 2008-01-22
quote = They 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. That was the year he visited China, and felt that having a Chinese name would be more convenient.] They have four children, three sons and one daughter. All of his children are of school-going age.

References

One is currently studying in Hwa Chong Institution

External links

* [http://www.cabinet.gov.sg/CabinetAppointments/Mr+Tharman+Shanmugaratnam.htm Singaporean Cabinet Biography]