Desmond Lee Ti-Seng ( zh, s=李智陞, p=Lǐ Zhìshēng; born 1976) is a Singaporean politician and lawyer who has been serving as Minister for National Development since 2020. 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 Boon Lay division of

West Coast GRC The West Coast Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) located in the western area of Singapore. The five divisions consists: Ayer Rajah-Gek Poh, West Coast, Boon Lay, Nanyang and Telok Blangah ...

since 2020. A lawyer by profession, Lee had worked at various public-sector institutions, including the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Attorney-General's Chambers In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

and

Temasek Holdings Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited, or simply Temasek, is a Singaporean state holding company owned by the Government of Singapore. Incorporated on 25 June 1974, Temasek owns and manages a total of US$496.59 billion (S$671 billion) in assets u ...

before entering politics. He made his political debut in the 2011 general election as part of a five-member PAP team contesting in

Jurong GRC The Jurong Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency located in the western area of Singapore. The GRC consists of a large section of Jurong, sections of Bukit Batok and areas near Upper Bukit Timah Roa ...

and won with 66.96% of the vote. He had held various political positions in the Ministry of National Development and

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

before he was made full member of the Cabinet on 1 May 2017.

Early life and education

Lee's father is

Lee Yock Suan Lee Yock Suan ( zh, s=李玉全, p=Lǐ Yùquán; born 30 September 1946) is a former Singaporean politician. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he served in the Cabinet between 1987 and 2004, and was a Member of Parliament (MP ...

, a former

and

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

minister. Lee also has

Peranakan The Peranakans () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (), namely the British Colonial ruled ports in the Malay Peninsula, th ...

ancestry from his mother's side. Lee was educated at

Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) This is a list of primary schools in Singapore. Children typically start their primary education in the year they turn seven. Primary education lasts six years, and is compulsory for all Singapore citizens. Primary schools in Singapore are clas ...

Raffles Institution Raffles Institution (RI) is an independent educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1823, it is the oldest school in the country. It provides secondary education for boys only from Year 1 to Year 4, and pre-university education for both ...

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

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...

in 2001 with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

with first class honours degree. He subsequently went on to complete a

Bachelor of Civil Law Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL, or B.C.L.; la, Baccalaureus Civilis Legis) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Camb ...

degree at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

Legal career

After graduating from NUS in 2001, Lee served as a Justices'

Law Clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

at the

before he became a

Deputy Public Prosecutor Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...

in the Criminal Justice Division of the

. From 2005 to 2009, Lee served as Deputy Director of the Legal Branch of the Ministry of Health. Later, he transferred to the Ministry of Law, where he served as Deputy Director of the Legal Policy Division until 2011. In March 2011, Lee joined

as an Associate Director in the Legal and Regulations Department.

Political career

Lee left Temasek Holdings to stand for election in the 2011 general election as part of a five-member

(PAP) team in Jurong Group Representation Constituency (GRC). The PAP team won the opposing National Solidarity Party team by 76,595 votes (66.96%) to 37,786 votes (33.07%). Lee then became a Member of Parliament representing the Jurong Spring ward of Jurong GRC. Following the 2011 general election, Lee served as a member of the Government Parliamentary Committees for Culture, Community and Youth,

Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

, and Social and Family Development. On 1 September 2013, Lee was appointed

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

in the Ministry of National Development. At the 2015 general election, Lee was re-elected as a Member of Parliament for Jurong GRC. The PAP team contesting in Jurong GRC won 79.3% of the votes cast. In October 2015, Lee was promoted to Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of National Development and

. On 1 May 2017, he became a full Minister and took up the positions of

Minister in the Prime Minister's Office A Minister in the Prime Minister's Office ( he, שר במשרד ראש הממשלה, ''Sar BeMisrad Rosh HaMemshala'') is a minister and member of the Cabinet of Israel appointed by the Prime Minister of Israel to handle various issues on behalf o ...

, Second Minister for Home Affairs and Second Minister for National Development. He was also Deputy Leader of the House in Parliament from October 2015 to June 2020. On 11 September 2017, Lee relinquished his portfolios in the Prime Minister's Office and Ministry of Home Affairs, and became Minister for Social and Family Development while retaining his portfolio as Second Minister for National Development. At the 2020 general election, Lee stood for election as part of a five-member PAP team in

and won with 51.69% of the vote against the

Progress Singapore Party The Progress Singapore Party (abbreviation: PSP) is a centre-left political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the governing People's Action Party (PAP) and opposition ...

. He then became a Member of Parliament representing the Boon Lay ward of West Coast GRC. Following a

Cabinet reshuffle A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the Head of State changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parlia ...

, on 27 July 2020, Lee succeeded

Lawrence Wong Lawrence Wong Shyun Tsai ( zh, c=黄循财, p=Huáng Xúncái; born 18 December 1972) is a Singaporean politician, economist and former civil servant who has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore since 2022 alongside Heng Swee Keat ...

as Minister for National Development and took on an additional newly-created position as Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration at the

Ministry of Social and Family Development The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF; ms, Kementerian Pembangunan Sosial dan Keluarga; zh, 社会及家庭发展部; ta, சமுதாய, குடும்ப மேம்பாட்டு அமைச்சு) is a ministr ...

. On 8 November 2020, Lee, along with

, were both elected into the PAP's Central Executive Committee for the first time.

Personal life

Lee is married with three children.

References

External links

Desmond Lee
on Prime Minister's Office
Desmond Lee
on

Parliament of Singapore The Parliament of Singapore is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Singapore, which governs the country alongside the president of Singapore. Largely based upon the Westminster system, the Parliament is made up of Members of Parliam ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Desmond Members of the Parliament of Singapore People's Action Party politicians Raffles Junior College alumni National University of Singapore alumni Singaporean people of Hokkien descent 1976 births Living people Members of the Cabinet of Singapore