Swearing-in and Appointment of Chairman and Members of the Council of Presidential Advisers

The President has appointed the following persons to the Council of Presidential Advisers:

Ms Chua Sock Koong will replace Mr Stephen Lee Ching Yen, whose term on the Council expired on 1 June 2020 after 12 years of service. 

With these changes, the composition of the Council is as follows:  

Chairman           Mr Eddie Teo

Members            Mr S Dhanabalan

Mr Po’ad Bin Shaik Abu Bakar Mattar

Mr Goh Joon Seng

Mr Lim Chee Onn

Mr Chua Thian Poh

Mr Bahren Shaari

Ms Chua Sock Koong

Alternate Members  Mrs Mildred Tan-Sim Beng Mei

                                 Mr Gan Seow Kee

Mr Eddie Teo

Mr Eddie Teo was appointed as a Member of the Council of Presidential Advisers since 15 August 2018 and Chairman of the Council since 2 January 2019. He is currently the Pro-Chancellor of Singapore Management University (SMU), Distinguished Fellow of School of Social Sciences, SMU and a Director of Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship.

Previous Career

He served in the Singapore Public Service for 35 years before retiring in 2005. He began his public service career in 1970 in the Security and Intelligence Division (SID) of the Ministry of Defence. He became Director, SID in 1979 and was in that post until 1994. From 1982 to 1986, he held the concurrent position of Director, Internal Security Department, Ministry of Home Affairs. He was Permanent Secretary (Defence) from 1994 to 2000 and Permanent Secretary (Prime Minister’s Office) from 1998 to 2005, and was concurrently Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence and the Prime Minister’s Office from 1998 to 2000. He was Singapore's High Commissioner to Australia from 2006 to 2008. He served two terms as the Chairman of the Public Service Commission, from August 2008 to July 2018. He was Chairman of the Presidential Council for Religious Harmony from 15 September 2017 to
2 January 2019 and Senior Advisor of Temasek International Advisors Pte Ltd from 1 April 2019 to 13 April 2020.

Mr Lim Chee Onn

Mr Lim Chee Onn chairs the Singapore-Suzhou Township Development Pte Ltd. He was appointed to the Council of Presidential Advisers as an Alternate Member in January 2008, and as a Member since April 2017. He is also Chancellor of the Singapore Management University, Chairman of the Lien Ying Chow Legacy Fellowship Council, Nanyang Technological University, and Senior Adviser to the University of Glasgow in Singapore. He is also a Director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (Asia) Ltd. Mr Lim's previous board directorships included Keppel Corporation Limited’s Executive Chairman from January 2000 to December 2008 and the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Board Member from January 2004 to May 2018. Mr Lim until 31 Jul 2019 was Senior International Adviser to the Ascendas-Singbridge Group which invests in, develops and manages overseas integrated cities and provides sustainable urban solutions adapted from Singapore's successful development experience.

Mr Lim graduated with First Class Honours in Naval Architecture from Glasgow University, earned his Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University, and was conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Engineering by Glasgow University.

He started his career in the Civil Service and was elected Member of Parliament from 1977 to 1992, Secretary-General NTUC from 1979 to 1983 and concurrently Minister without Portfolio, Prime Minister’s Office from 1980 to 1983.

Mr Lim was conferred the Distinguished Service Order by HE The President, Republic of Singapore in 2007, Commander, Order of the Crown, by HM King Albert II, Kingdom of Belgium in 2008, and The Order of Nila Utama (With High Distinction) by HE The President of the Republic of Singapore at the National Day Awards 2019. Mr Lim is an Honorary Citizen of Suzhou, People’s Republic of China, and Seoul, Republic of Korea. He is married with 3 children.

Ms Chua Sock Koong

Ms Chua Sock Koong is the Group CEO of Singapore Telecommunications Limited (Singtel), Asia’s leading communications technology group.

Appointed Group CEO in April 2007, Sock Koong directs the Singapore-based multinational’s global strategy and oversees its consumer, enterprise and digital businesses.

Sock Koong sits on the boards of Singtel, Bharti Airtel Limited, Bharti Telecom Limited, the Defence Science and Technology Agency, Cap Vista Pte Ltd and key subsidiaries of the Singtel Group. She is also Deputy Chair of the GSMA Board.

She is Deputy Chairman of the Public Service Commission and a member of the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council. She is also a member of Singapore’s Council of Presidential Advisers.

Sock Koong was awarded the Public Service Star (BBM) in Singapore’s 2019 National Day Awards.

Sock Koong holds a Bachelor of Accountancy (First Class Honours) from the University of Singapore. She is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants and a CFA charterholder.

Mr Gan Seow Kee

Mr Gan Seow Kee is Chairman and Managing Director of ExxonMobil Asia Pacific. He is also President and Director of ExxonMobil China Petroleum and Petrochemical Company Ltd, and serves as Board Director in ExxonMobil’s joint ventures in China.

Mr Gan is vice chairman of the Singapore Business Federation and serves on the board of the Singapore Economic Development Board.

He is a member of the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry's International Advisory Panel on Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering, as well as the National University of Singapore Engineering Faculty Advisory Board. He currently serves on the Emerging Stronger Taskforce to review how Singapore can build new sources of dynamism and stay economically resilient in a post-COVID-19 world.

He was conferred the Medal of Commendation (Gold) Award by the National Trades

Union Congress in 2017 and the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award by National University of Singapore in 2018.

Mr Gan obtained his bachelor’s degree in engineering with honours from National University of Singapore and is a Fellow with the United Kingdom Institute of Chartered Management Accountants.

PRESIDENT’S OFFICE
3 JUNE 2020