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 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 served in the

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 ...

between 1987 and 2004, and was a

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) between 1980 and 2006. He is the father of

Desmond Lee Sir Henry Desmond Pritchard Lee (30 August 1908 – 8 December 1993) was an English classical scholar specialising in ancient philosophy who became a Fellow and tutor of Corpus Christi College at Cambridge University, a lecturer in the univers ...

, the current Minister for National Development.

Career

Lee worked at Singapore's

Economic Development Board The Economic Development Board (EDB) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Government of Singapore that plans and executes strategies to sustain Singapore as a leading global hub for business and investment. His ...

from 1969 to 1980, initially as a projects officer before becoming Divisional Director (Industry). From 1980 to 1981, he served as Deputy Managing Director of the Petroleum Corporation of Singapore.

Political career

Lee was first elected to Parliament at the 1980 general election. He served as an MP representing the Cheng San Single Member Constituency (1980–88), the

Cheng San Group Representation Constituency Cheng San Group Representation Constituency (Simplified Chinese: 静山集选区;Traditional Chinese: 靜山集選區) was a Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the North-eastern region in Singapore. The GRC consisted of the eastern part ...

(1988-2001) and the

East Coast Group Representation Constituency The East Coast Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency in the eastern area of Singapore. The areas of the Group Representation Constituency consists of locations such as East Coast Park, Bedok, Chan ...

(2001–06). After serving as a

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 ...

at the Ministry of National Development and the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Ec ...

from 1983 to 1984, Lee was made the Acting Minister for Labour in 1985. He became a full member of the Cabinet in 1987, and served as the Minister for Labour (1987–91), Minister for Education (1992–97), Second Minister for Finance (1997–98), Minister for Trade and Industry (1997–99), Minister for Information and the Arts (1999–2001), Minister for the Environment (1999–2001), Second Minister for Foreign Affairs (2001–04) and

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 ...

(2001–04). Lee also served as the Deputy Chairman 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 ...

from 1984 to 1991, and as Chairman of the

Singapore Labour Foundation The Singapore Labour Foundation (SLF) was established on 12 December 1977 and is a statutory board under the Ministry of Manpower. Its aims are to improve the welfare of union members and to further the development of trade unions in Singapore. ...

from 1997 to 2002. Lee stepped down from the Cabinet in 2004. He remained an MP until 2006, before retiring from politics at the 2006 general election.

Education

Lee was educated at Queenstown Secondary Technical School and

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 ...

, before being awarded a

President's Scholar A President's Scholar is a recipient of the academic scholarship awarded by the Government of Singapore annually, to pursue undergraduate education at a university, usually abroad. The scholarship is considered to be the most prestigious public ...

ship to study at

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

, where he completed a BSc (Hons) degree in

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...

. He subsequently completed a Diploma in Business Administration at the

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 ...

Personal life

Lee is an ethnic Hokkien and is married to Adeline Oh Choon Neo and has one son and one daughter. His son,

,Yes to evolution, no to revolution
, ''My Paper'', 24 March 2011. is a politician who is currently a

for

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 ...

and Minister for National Development.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Yock Suan Members of the Cabinet of Singapore Members of the Parliament of Singapore People's Action Party politicians President's Scholars Singaporean people of Hokkien descent 1946 births Living people Ministers for Education of Singapore Ministers for Labour of Singapore