Desmond Tan Kok Ming ( zh, s=陈国明, p=Chén Guómíng; born 1970) is a Singaporean politician, union leader and former

brigadier-general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

who has been serving as Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office and Deputy Secretary-General of the

National Trade Union Congress The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), also known as the Singapore National Trades Union Congress (SNTUC) internationally, is the sole national trade union centre in Singapore. NTUC is at the heart of the Labour Movement which comprises 59 ...

since 2022. He previously served as Minister of State for Home Affairs and Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment concurrently between 2020 and 2022. A member of the governing

People's Action Party The People's Action Party (abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and ...

(PAP), he has been the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) representing the

Pasir Ris Central Pasir Ris is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, residential town located in the East Region, Singapore, East Region of Singapore. It is bordered by Tampines and Paya Lebar to the south, Sengkang to the sout ...

division of

Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC Pasil ( fa, پسيل, also Romanized as Pasīl; also known as Pasīr) is a village in Sepiddasht Rural District, Papi District, Khorramabad County, Lorestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 469, in 92 families. References

since 2020. Prior to entering politics, Tan had served 28 years in the

Singapore Armed Forces The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military services of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A military component of the Ministry of Defence (MINDE ...

(SAF) and attained the rank

Brigadier-General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. He also served as Chief Executive Director of the

People's Association The People's Association (PA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) of the Government of Singapore that oversees neighbourhood grassroots communities and social organisations. Established in 1960, it wa ...

between 2017 and 2020.Desmond Tan Kok Ming
. ''LinkedIn''. Accessed on 26 June 2020. He made his political debut in the 2020 general election when he joined a five-member PAP team contesting in Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC and they won with 64.15% of the vote.

Early life and education

Tan grew up with his three siblings living in a three-room HDB flat in

Bukit Ho Swee Bukit Ho Swee () is a subzone within the planning area of Bukit Merah, Singapore, as defined by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). Its boundary is made up of the Alexandra Canal in the north; Kim Seng Road and Outram Road in the east; Zion ...

where his father worked as a taxi driver while his mother takes up odd jobs.Singapore GE2020: Profiles of PAP's new candidates
". ''The Straits Times''. June 25, 2020. Accessed on 26 June 2020. He attended Queenstown Secondary Technical School and

Raffles Junior College The Raffles Junior College (RJC) was a junior college in Singapore offering pre-university education. The college was founded in 1982, following a separation from the pre-university section of Raffles Institution (RI). Raffles Junior College ...

before graduating from the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

with a

Bachelor of Engineering A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an academic undergraduate degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at an accredited college or university. In the UK, a Bache ...

degree with honours in

aeronautical engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: Aeronautics, aeronautical engineering and Astronautics, astronautical engineering. A ...

in 1994 under the Singapore Armed Forces Merit Scholarship. He also completed a master's degree in defence strategic studies at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

in 2000 and a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

Nanyang Technological University The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a national research university in Singapore. It is the second oldest autonomous university in the country and is considered as one of the most prestigious universities in the world by various inte ...

Career

Military career

Tan started his career in the

and spent 28 years in the military before rising to the rank of

. During his service, he held various appointments, including Chief of Staff – General Staff, Director of Joint Operations, Chief Guards Officer, and Director of Public Affairs. He was also Chairman of the

NDP NDP may stand for: Computing * Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol * Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP * Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language Government * National ...

2012 Executive Committee, and had participated in the

International Security Assistance Force ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , comman ...

in Afghanistan as Singapore's contingent commander. He received the SAF Overseas Medal (Enhanced) and NATO (ISAF) Medal.

Public service

After retiring from the Singapore Armed Forces in 2017, Tan joined the

as its Chief Executive Director before stepping down in June 2020 to run for election in the 2020 general election.

Political career

Tan made his political debut in the 2020 general election when he joined a five-member

(PAP) team contesting in

. The PAP team won with 64.15% of the vote against the

Singapore Democratic Alliance The Singapore Democratic Alliance (abbreviation: SDA) is a political coalition between the National Solidarity Party (NSP) and Singapore Justice Party (SJP) in Singapore. History Prior to the founding in 2001, then-opposition Member of Parli ...

and Peoples Voice, and Tan was elected as the

representing the

ward of Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC. On 27 July 2020, he was appointed Minister of State for Home Affairs and Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment. On 6 June 2022, a Cabinet reshuffle was announced by Prime Minister

Lee Hsien Loong Lee Hsien Loong (; born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician and former brigadier-general who has been serving as Prime Minister of Singapore and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party since 2004. He has been the Member of Par ...

and Tan would relinquish his positions of Minister of State for Home Affairs and Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment and assume the position of Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office. The move was to allow Tan to take less responsibilities and devote less attention in the government which he would be in part-time basis after joining the labour movement

National Trades Union Congress The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), also known as the Singapore National Trades Union Congress (SNTUC) internationally, is the sole national trade union centre in Singapore. NTUC is at the heart of the Labour Movement which comprises 59 ...

(NTUC) after the departure of its Deputy Secretary-General

Chee Hong Tat Chee Hong Tat ( zh, s=徐芳达, p=Xú Fāngdá; born 1973) is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Senior Minister of State for Finance since 2022 and Senior Minister of State for Transport since 2020. A member of the governing Pe ...

from NTUC to return to the government on full-time basis. These changes took effect a week later on 13 June 2022.

Personal life

Tan is married with three children.Mr Desmond Tan Kok Ming
". ''People's Action Party''. Accessed on 9 July 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Desmond 1970 births Living people Alumni of King's College London Members of the Parliament of Singapore People's Action Party politicians Singaporean politicians of Chinese descent