Third Lee Hsien Loong Cabinet

Updated on Nov 28, 2023

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Date formed 21 May 2011 Head of government Lee Hsien Loong		Date dissolved 30 Sep 2015 Member party People's Action Party

Deputy head of government Teo Chee Hean Tharman Shanmugaratnam Head of state S.R. Nathan Tony Tan Keng Yam

The Third Cabinet of Lee Hsien Loong of the Government of Singapore came into existence on 21 May 2011 following the 7 May general election. While many of its members were retained from the previous government, Heng Swee Keat and Chan Chun Sing, who had both just been elected, were given ministerial appointments.

With effect from 1 August 2012, Grace Fu became only the second woman in Singapore's history to be made a full minister by being appointed a Minister in the Prime Minister's Office. (The first was Lim Hwee Hua.) From 1 November, Chan Chun Sing assumed the designation of Acting Minister for Social and Family Development, while Lawrence Wong was brought into the Cabinet for the first time as Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth.

Cabinet

At the 2011 general election, Senior Minister Shunmugam Jayakumar did not contest his seat as part of the East Coast Group Representation Constituency and thus retired from the Cabinet. Foreign Minister George Yeo and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Hwee Hua contested Aljunied GRC unsuccessfully, and were defeated by a team from the Workers' Party of Singapore.

Following the election, on 14 May 2011, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong tendered their resignations from the Cabinet, stating that they wished to give the Prime Minister a "fresh clean slate" in forming the Government and enable him to "have a completely younger team of ministers to connect to and engage with this young generation". Goh was given the honorary title of Emeritus Senior Minister; the same title was offered to Lee but he declined. Lee and Goh were appointed as senior advisers to the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) respectively.

Four days later, on 18 May, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced a new Cabinet line-up. In addition to Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Chok Tong, George Yeo and Lim Hwee Hua, four other ministers retired: Wong Kan Seng, Mah Bow Tan, Lim Boon Heng and Raymond Lim. Two ministers, Lim Hng Kiang and Lim Swee Say, retained their respective Trade and Industry and Prime Minister's Office portfolios, while existing ministers were appointed to new positions in the remaining 11 ministries. Tharman Shanmugaratnam was promoted to Deputy Prime Minister and appointed Minister for Manpower in addition to his portfolio of Minister for Finance, replacing Wong Kan Seng. S. Iswaran, formerly Senior Minister of State for Education and for Trade and Industry, was elevated to the Cabinet as Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, and Second Minister for Home Affairs and for Trade and Industry. Heng Swee Keat and Chan Chun Sing, both elected to Parliament for the first time, were respectively assigned the posts of Minister for Education, and Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports and Minister of State for the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts. Heng was the first new MP directly appointed a full minister since 1984.

With effect from 21 May 2011, the Cabinet of Singapore consisted of the following persons:

The names in bold are the surnames of Chinese persons, and the personal names of Indian and Malay persons (except for Vivian Balakrishnan and Tharman Shanmugaratnam, where they indicate surnames as well).

Ministers of State and Parliamentary Secretaries

Where Ministers of State and Parliamentary Secretaries were concerned, new appointments were made following the 2011 general election, including the appointment of three newly elected MPs: Sim Ann, Tan Chuan-Jin and Lawrence Wong. Backbenchers Halimah Yacob and Josephine Teo were made Ministers of State. With effect from 21 May 2011 the following Members of Parliament were appointed as Ministers of State and Parliamentary Secretaries: