Occupation Military Officer | Nationality Singaporean | |
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Education London School of Economics and Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology | ||
Gan Siow Huang (born 1975) was the highest ranking female officer, and the first female general in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). She was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General on 1 July 2015 at the age of 40.
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In October 2016, Member of Parliament Low Yen Ling announced jn a speech to women rights organizations that Gan is "one notable example who smashed the “brass ceiling” to become the first female general in the SAF".
Education
After her pre-university education in Victoria Junior College, Gan received a Singapore Armed Forces Merit Scholarship (Women) in 1993 and subsequently earned a BSc from the London School of Economics. She attended the New Zealand Defence College's command and staff course in 2003. In 2010, she graduated with an MBA from the MIT Sloan Fellows Program.
Military career
Gan is a weapon systems officer by training. Throughout her military career, she has held command and staff appointments in the SAF, including Commander of the 203 Squadron, Commander of Air Surveillance and Control Group and was Head of the Joint Manpower Department in the Ministry of Defence (Singapore). Gan succeeded BG Neo Hong Keat as Commander of the Air Power Generation Command on 5 October 2016.
Concurrently, she is an executive committee member of the Girl Guides Singapore in 2016/17.
Gan received the Public Administration Medal (Military) in 2013.
Personal life
Gan is married to Mr Lee Jek Suen, a former naval officer in the SAF. They have three children.