Goh Chok Tong 吴作栋
Senior Minister
Incumbent
Assumed office  12 August 2004
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Lee Kuan Yew
Constituency	Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency (Marine Parade)
2nd Prime Minister of Singapore
In office 28 November 1990 – 12 August 2004
President	Wee Kim Wee Ong Teng Cheong Sellapan Ramanathan
Deputy	Lee Hsien Loong and Tony Tan Keng Yam (1995 to 2004) Ong Teng Cheong (1990 to 1993)
Preceded by	Lee Kuan Yew
Succeeded by	Lee Hsien Loong
Born	May 20, 1941 (1941-05-20) (age 67) Singapore
Political party	People's Action Party
Spouse	Tan Choo Leng

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Goh. The title "Senior Minister" was also a title used in Canada before " Deputy Prime Minister " was introduced in 1977 Events 1099 - First Crusade: Battle of Ascalon - Crusaders under the command of Godfrey of Bouillon defeat Fatimid "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Lee Hsien Loong ( born February 10, 1952) is the third and current Prime Minister of Singapore. Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH ( born September 16 1923 also spelled Lee Kwan-Yew) is a Singaporean of Chinese immigrant background Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency ( Traditional Chinese: 馬林百列集選區 Simplified Chinese: 马林百列集选区 is a six-member Group Marine Parade is also the name of the main street of Napier New Zealand. The Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore is the Head of government of the Republic of Singapore (and prior to 9 August 1965 For the town in Argentina, see 28 de Noviembre. Events Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) Events 1099 - First Crusade: Battle of Ascalon - Crusaders under the command of Godfrey of Bouillon defeat Fatimid "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Wee Kim Wee ( November 4 1915 &ndash May 2 2005) was the fourth President of Singapore, from 1985 to 1993 Ong Teng Cheong, GCMG ( January 22, 1936 - February 8, 2002) was the first directly elected President of Republic Sellapan Ramanathan ( Tamil: செல்லப்பன் ராமநாதன் born 3 July 1924 is the sixth and current President of the Republic of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong ( born February 10, 1952) is the third and current Prime Minister of Singapore. Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam ( Minnan: Tân Khèng-iām born 7 February 1940, Singapore) is the Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Ong Teng Cheong, GCMG ( January 22, 1936 - February 8, 2002) was the first directly elected President of Republic Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH ( born September 16 1923 also spelled Lee Kwan-Yew) is a Singaporean of Chinese immigrant background Lee Hsien Loong ( born February 10, 1952) is the third and current Prime Minister of Singapore. Events 325 - The First Council of Nicaea &ndash the first Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church is held Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Singapore The People's Action Party ( abbrev: PAP; Chinese: 人民行动党 Pinyin: Rénmín Xíngdòngdǎng Malay: Parti Tindakan Rakyat Tan Choo Leng ( is the wife of Goh Chok Tong, who was the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from November 26, 1990 Personal Names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. Chinese family name is one of the hundreds or thousands of Family names that have been historically used by Han Chinese and Sinicized Chinese ethnic Wu is the Pinyin transliteration of the Chinese surname 吳 (Traditional Chinese 吴 (Simplified Chinese which is the tenth most common

Goh Chok Tong (simplified Chinese: 吴作栋; traditional Chinese: 吳作棟; pinyin: Wú Zuòdòng; Hokkien: Gô· Chok-tòng; born May 20, 1941), was the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from November 28, 1990 to August 12, 2004, succeeding Lee Kuan Yew. Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use The Southern Min language or Min Nan ( POJ: Bân-lâm-gú or "Southern Fujian" language refers to a family of Chinese languages Dialects Events 325 - The First Council of Nicaea &ndash the first Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church is held Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore is the Head of government of the Republic of Singapore (and prior to 9 August 1965 Singapore For the town in Argentina, see 28 de Noviembre. Events Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) Events 1099 - First Crusade: Battle of Ascalon - Crusaders under the command of Godfrey of Bouillon defeat Fatimid "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH ( born September 16 1923 also spelled Lee Kwan-Yew) is a Singaporean of Chinese immigrant background He served a total of fourteen years. He is currently Senior Minister of Singapore and the chairman of the central bank of Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The title "Senior Minister" was also a title used in Canada before " Deputy Prime Minister " was introduced in 1977 Singapore A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is the entity responsible for the Monetary policy of a country or of a group of member states The Monetary Authority of Singapore ( Abbreviation: MAS; Chinese: 新加坡金融管理局 Malay: Penguasa Kewangan Singapura) is

Early life

Born into a Hokkien family, Goh studied at Raffles Institution from 1955 to 1960. Raffles Institution is an independent boys' secondary school in Singapore. He is said to have been a very competitive swimmer in his younger days.

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. Economics is the social science that studies the production distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The National University of Singapore ( Abbreviation: NUS;; Abbreviated 国大 Malay: Universiti Kebangsaan Singapura; Tamil: A Master of Arts ( Latin: Magister Artium) is a Postgraduate academic Master's degree awarded by universities in a large Williams College is a highly selective private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the After his studies, Goh returned to Singapore to serve in the Administrative Service. ^[1]

Career at Neptune Orient Lines, 1969 to 1977

In 1969, Goh was seconded to the Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) as a Planning and Projects Manager. Neptune Orient Lines Limited, or NOL for short is a Singapore -based global Transport company with core businesses His career advanced quickly and by 1973, he became the Managing Director and led NOL to achieve impressive financial results during his tenure. ^[1]

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. The 1976 election was the third time that Singapore's People's Action Party (PAP party won a majority of seats to the Parliament of Singapore, having also done so A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. The People's Action Party ( abbrev: PAP; Chinese: 人民行动党 Pinyin: Rénmín Xíngdòngdǎng Malay: Parti Tindakan Rakyat 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. ^[2]

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. Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam ( Minnan: Tân Khèng-iām born 7 February 1940, Singapore) is the Suppiah Dhanabalan (born August 8, 1937) was a high-profile political leader in Singapore in the 1980s Ong Teng Cheong, GCMG ( January 22, 1936 - February 8, 2002) was the first directly elected President of Republic ^[1]

Prime Minister, 1990 to 2004

Prime Minister Goh and U. S. President George W. Bush signing the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement in the White House, May 6, 2003. George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States. The United States - Singapore Free Trade Agreement was signed May 6, 2003 and ratified by the US House of Representatives See also Executive Office of the President of the United States The White House, formerly known as the Executive Mansion, is the Official residence Events 1527 - Spanish and German troops sack Rome; some consider this the end of the Renaissance. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar.

On 28 November 1990, Goh became the second Prime Minister of Singapore, taking over from Lee Kuan Yew. Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH ( born September 16 1923 also spelled Lee Kwan-Yew) is a Singaporean of Chinese immigrant background Lee remained an influential member of his Cabinet, holding the post of Senior Minister. The title "Senior Minister" was also a title used in Canada before " Deputy Prime Minister " was introduced in 1977 Goh was initially written off by critics as a weak, transitionary figure, and a seat-warmer for Lee Hsien Loong. Lee Hsien Loong ( born February 10, 1952) is the third and current Prime Minister of Singapore. Nonetheless, 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 was seen as having a more open-minded and consultative style of leadership, compared to his predecessor. His administration introduced several major policies and policy institutions, including:

• Medisave
• Non-Constituency Members of Parliament
• Government Parliamentary Committees
• Group representation constituency
• Nominated Members of Parliament
• Vehicle Quota Scheme
• Elected President
• Singapore 21

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. The Central Provident Fund ( Abbreviation: CPF; Chinese: 公积金 Pinyin: Gōngjījīn) is a compulsory comprehensive Social Non-Constituency Members of Parliament ( NCMPs) are members of the opposition parties who were appointed as members of the Parliament of Singapore even though Constituencies of Singapore are electoral divisions which may be represented by single or multiple seats in the Parliament of Singapore. A Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP is an unelected MP that does not represent any Electoral district in the Parliament of Singapore. The Certificate of Entitlement (COE, instituted by the government of Singapore, is a program designed to limit car Ownership, and hence the number of The President of the Republic of Singapore is Singapore 's Head of state. The Asian Financial Crisis was a period of Financial crisis that gripped much of Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown ( The Singapore embassies attack plot was a plan in 2001 by the Al-Qaeda -affiliated Jemaah Islamiyah (JI to Bomb the Diplomatic missions and attack History The JI was established as a loose confederation of several Islamic groups The economy of Singapore is a highly developed capitalist Mixed economy.

As Secretary General, Goh led the PAP to three general elections 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. The Singapore parliamentary general elections of 2001 were held on 3 November. ^[1]

During an interview with Time Magazine in July 2003, Goh surprised his national by announcing that his Government is now openly employing gays, even in sensitive jobs. Time (trademarked in capitals as TIME) is a weekly American Newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and This is despite homosexual acts remaining illegal under the Singaporean Penal Code of 377a. ^[3] 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.

Senior Minister, 2004 to present

Goh Chok Tong speaking at a rally at Potong Pasir during the 2006 general election. Potong Pasir Single Member Constituency ( Traditional Chinese: 波東巴西單選區 Simplified Chinese: 波东巴西单选区 is a Single Member Constituency The banner behind him shows the campaign manifesto of the People's Action Party, "Staying Together, Moving Ahead". The People's Action Party ( abbrev: PAP; Chinese: 人民行动党 Pinyin: Rénmín Xíngdòngdǎng Malay: Parti Tindakan Rakyat

On 12 August 2004, Goh stepped down as Prime Minister and serves as Senior Minister in Lee Hsien Loong's Cabinet. The title "Senior Minister" was also a title used in Canada before " Deputy Prime Minister " was introduced in 1977 Lee Hsien Loong ( born February 10, 1952) is the third and current Prime Minister of Singapore. On 20 August 2004, Goh assumed the post of Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The Monetary Authority of Singapore ( Abbreviation: MAS; Chinese: 新加坡金融管理局 Malay: Penguasa Kewangan Singapura) is [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. Islamism ( Islam + ism; Arabic: al-'islāmiyya) a set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Seyyed Mohammad Khātamī ( سید محمد خاتمی, pronounced xɑːtæmiː}} (born September 29, 1943, in Ardakan, Yazd A "mosque" in English refers to all types of buildings dedicated for Islamic worship although there is a distinction in Arabic between the smaller privately owned mosque and the larger The Straits Times speculated that this was meant to develop relationships between Singapore and Iran. The Straits Times ( Chinese: 海峡时报 is an English language Broadsheet Newspaper based in Singapore, currently

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. The title "Senior Minister" was also a title used in Canada before " Deputy Prime Minister " was introduced in 1977 Qatar ( قطر; ˈqɑtˁɑr local pronunciation giṭar officially the State of Qatar (Arabic دولة قطر transliterated The State of Kuwait ( دولة الكويت IPA [dawlatt̪ alkuwajt̪]) is a sovereign Arab Emirate on the coast of the Persian Gulf, enclosed

On May 19, 2005, Goh signed a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement with Israel's Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his visit to Israel. (בִּנְיָמִין "ביבי" נְתַנְיָהוּ Binyamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, born October 21 1949, Tel Aviv) was For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. 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. The Institute of Policy Studies (IPS (新加坡政策研究院 was established in 1988 as a Think-tank dedicated to fostering good governance in Singapore A think tank (also called a policy institute) is an organization institute corporation or group that conducts Research and engages in advocacy in areas such

In the Singapore general election, 2006, Goh was tasked to help the PAP win back the two opposition wards of Hougang and Potong Pasir. The 2006 Singapore parliamentary general election was held on 6 May 2006 [2] However, he was unsuccessful in this task, as Low Thia Khiang and Chiam See Tong retained their respective wards. Low Thia Khiang ( Traditional Chinese: 劉程強 Simplified Chinese: 刘程强 Pinyin: Liú Chéngqiáng Chiam See Tong ( born March 12, 1935) represents the Potong Pasir Single Member Constituency in the Parliament of Singapore.

In 2006, Goh was briefly considered for the job as United Nations Secretary-General. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the Secretariat, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. The job eventually went to Ban Ki-moon [3] [4]. Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944 Korean: 반기문 Hanja: 潘基文 is the current Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Family

Goh is married to Tan Choo Leng and they have a twin son and daughter. Tan Choo Leng ( is the wife of Goh Chok Tong, who was the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from November 26, 1990 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. Mount Elizabeth Hospital and Medical Centre ( Chinese: 伊丽莎白医院 is a private Hospital in Singapore. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom.

References

External links

• Who will be the next UN Secretary General?