Ng Eng Hen
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Ng Eng Hen ( zh, s=黄永宏, p=Huáng Yǒnghóng; born 10 December 1958) is a Singaporean politician and former oncologist who has been serving as
Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
since 2011. 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 Toa Payoh Central division of Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC since 2001. Prior to entering politics, Ng was a consultant surgeon at the
Singapore General Hospital Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is an academic health science centre and tertiary referral hospital in Singapore. It is located next to the Bukit Merah and Chinatown districts of the Central Region, close to the Outram Community Hospital (OCH ...
(SGH) and later a private surgical oncologist at
Mount Elizabeth Hospital Mount Elizabeth Hospital, known colloquially as Mount E, is a 345-bed private hospital in Singapore operated by Parkway Health. Construction began in 1976 and the hospital officially opened on 8 December 1979. The hospital specialises in cardi ...
. He made his political debut in the 2001 general election as part of a five-member PAP team contesting in Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC and won by an uncontested walkover. Ng was later elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) and has been winning subsequent general elections since.


Early life and education

A Chinese Singaporean of Henghua descent, Ng and his five siblings lived in a rental flat in Zion Road during his childhood. He was educated at
Anglo-Chinese School Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) is a family of Methodist schools in Singapore and Indonesia. It was founded in 1886 by Bishop William Fitzjames Oldham as an extension of the Methodist Church. Anglo-Chinese School is usually abbreviated as "ACS", wit ...
and
National Junior College National Junior College (NJC) is a government junior college located in Bukit Timah, Singapore. Established in 1969, it was the first government junior college in Singapore. NJC offers a two-year course for pre-university students and a six-year ...
before completing
medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...
at 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 ...
. He also underwent fellowship training in
surgical oncology Surgical oncology is the branch of surgery applied to oncology; it focuses on the surgical management of tumors, especially cancerous tumors. As one of several modalities in the management of cancer, the specialty of surgical oncology has evolved ...
at the
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (colloquially MD Anderson Cancer Center) is a comprehensive cancer center in Houston, Texas. It is the largest cancer center in the U.S. and one of the original three comprehensive cancer centers ...
.


Career

Ng was a consultant surgeon at the
Singapore General Hospital Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is an academic health science centre and tertiary referral hospital in Singapore. It is located next to the Bukit Merah and Chinatown districts of the Central Region, close to the Outram Community Hospital (OCH ...
between 1992 and 1997 before he went into private practice at
Mount Elizabeth Hospital Mount Elizabeth Hospital, known colloquially as Mount E, is a 345-bed private hospital in Singapore operated by Parkway Health. Construction began in 1976 and the hospital officially opened on 8 December 1979. The hospital specialises in cardi ...
as a surgical oncologist between 1997 and 2001.


Political career

Ng made his political debut in the 2001 general election as part of a five-member PAP team contesting in Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC and won by an uncontested walkover and Ng was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Toa Payoh Central ward of Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC. Since 2001, he has been the Member of Parliament for that ward, having successfully retained his seat in subsequent general elections. He is also an adviser to the Bishan–Toa Payoh Town Council and Bishan–Toa Payoh grassroots organisations. In 2002, Ng was appointed Minister of State for Education and Minister of State for Manpower. In August 2004, Ng was promoted to full Minister and appointed Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Education. In 2005, he relinquished his portfolio as Second Minister for Education and became Second Minister for Defence. In April 2008, he stepped down from his post as Minister for Manpower and took up the portfolio of Minister for Education. Ng was also Chairman of the Jobs Task Force at the Ministry of Manpower, and Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Low Wage Workers. In June 2007, Ng was invited by the
French Ministry of Defence , native_name_a = , native_name_r = , type = Ministry , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , logo = Ministère des Armées.svg , logo_width = 150 , logo_caption = Official logot ...
to visit the
Paris Air Show The Paris Air Show (french: Salon international de l'aéronautique et de l'espace de Paris-Le Bourget, Salon du Bourget) is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France. Organized by the French ...
and also to visit a permanent
Republic of Singapore Air Force The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) is the aerial service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for controlling and defending the airspace of the country, and providing air support to the Army and Navy. It was establish ...
(RSAF) detachment stationed at
Cazaux Air Base Cazaux Air Base (french: Base aérienne 120 Cazaux) is a French Air and Space Force (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace) base. The base is located in the village of Cazaux, part of the town of La Teste-de-Buch, and is approximately southwe ...
. In March 2010, Ng mentioned that the weight of mother-tongue language examinations in the
Primary School Leaving Examination The Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) (Malay: ''Peperiksaan Tamat Sekolah Rendah'', Simplified Chinese: 小学离校考试 x''iǎoxué lí xiào kǎoshì'') is a national examination in Singapore that is administered by the Ministry of Ed ...
(PSLE) might be reduced in order to benefit some students who are weak in their mother-tongue due to the emphasis on the English language in the Singapore education system. This sparked a debate among Singaporeans who support emphasis on mother-tongue languages in education. Ng subsequently assured Singaporeans that the weight of mother-tongue language in the PSLE would not be reduced. During the 2011 general election, Ng was part of a five-member PAP team contesting in Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC and won 56.93% of the vote against the
Singapore People's Party The Singapore People's Party (abbreviation: SPP) is a political party in Singapore. History SPP was founded on 21 November 1994 by Sin Kek Tong, who led a pro-Chiam See Tong faction out of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP). Over two years, ...
. In 2011, Ng stepped down from his role as Minister for Education and was appointed
Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
. In
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, he served as Deputy Leader of the House between 2007 and 2011 and later as Leader of the House between 2011 and 2015. During 2015 general election, Ng lead the five-member PAP team contesting in Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC and won 73.59% of the vote against a second challenge by the
Singapore People's Party The Singapore People's Party (abbreviation: SPP) is a political party in Singapore. History SPP was founded on 21 November 1994 by Sin Kek Tong, who led a pro-Chiam See Tong faction out of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP). Over two years, ...
. In 2018, the French government awarded Ng the
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...
. During the 2020 general election, Ng was part of a four-member PAP team contesting in Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC and won about 67% of the vote against the
Singapore People's Party The Singapore People's Party (abbreviation: SPP) is a political party in Singapore. History SPP was founded on 21 November 1994 by Sin Kek Tong, who led a pro-Chiam See Tong faction out of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP). Over two years, ...
.


Personal life

Ng is married to Ivy Ng Swee Lian, a
paediatrician Pediatrics (American and British English differences, also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, Adolescence, adolescents, and young adults. In the United King ...
and
geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processe ...
who has been serving as the
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of
SingHealth Singapore Health Services (SingHealth) is Singapore's largest group of healthcare institutions. The group was formed in 2000 and consists of four public hospitals, three community hospitals, five national specialty centres and a network of ei ...
Prof Ivy Ng and the couple have four children.


References


External links


Ng Eng Hen
on Prime Minister's Office
Ng Eng Hen
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:Ng, Eng Hen 1958 births Anglo-Chinese School alumni Ministers for Education of Singapore Living people Members of the Cabinet of Singapore Members of the Parliament of Singapore National University of Singapore alumni People's Action Party politicians Singaporean politicians of Chinese descent Recipients of the Olympic Order Singaporean people of Henghua descent University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center alumni Ministers for Defence of Singapore Ministers for Manpower of Singapore