Sam Tan Chin Siong (, born ) is a Singaporean former 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 ...

, he was 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 Radin Mas division of

Tanjong Pagar GRC The Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in Central and Western Singapore. The five divisions consists: Buona Vista, Queenstown, Moulmein-Cairnhill, Tanjong Pagar- Tiong Bahr ...

between 2006 and 2011 and

Radin Mas SMC The Radin Mas Single Member Constituency is a single member constituency (SMC) located in the central area of Singapore. The ward covers a portion of Bukit Merah, specifically the suburbs of Redhill, Bukit Merah Central, the eastern half of Tel ...

between 2011 and 2020. Tan had served as Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth between 2014 and 2015, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office between 2014 and 2018, Minister of State for Manpower between 2015 and 2018, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs between 2017 and 2020 and Minister of State for Social and Family Development between 2018 and 2020. He had also served as Mayor of

Central Singapore District The Central Singapore Community Development Council is one of five Community Development Councils (CDCs) set up across the Republic of Singapore to aid in local administration of governmental policies and schemes. Constituencies As of March 2020 ...

between 2011 and 2014.

Early life and education

Tan attended Tuan Mong High School and

Hwa Chong Junior College The Hwa Chong Junior College () was a junior college in Singapore offering pre-university education. The school merged with The Chinese High School on 1 January 2005 to form the integrated Hwa Chong Institution. History Founding Hwa Chong Jun ...

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 1983 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

with honours degree. Tan started his career at 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 ...

(PA), where he served as Deputy Executive Director between 1992 and 1997. He subsequently became Executive Director of the

Chinese Development Assistance Council The Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC; ) is a joint development between the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry The Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI; ) is a business chamber in Singapore. The ...

(CDAC) in 1997. From 2007 to 2009, he served 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 Business China.

Political career

Tan made his political debut in the 2006 general election contesting in

and won by an uncontested walkover. Tan was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Trade and Industry, and Parliamentary Secretary for Information, Communications and the Arts concurrently from July 2009 to October 2009. He was subsequently promoted to Senior Parliamentary Secretary in November 2009, and served until May 2011. During the 2011 general election, Tan contested in the newly-created

. Tan faced a challenge from veteran Yip Yew Weng of the National Solidarity Party after two other political parties, Reform Party and

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 ...

withdrew in favour of the NSP. Tan won by a large margin, garnering 67.10% of the vote. Tan was appointed Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development, Youth and Sports in May 2011. He was also appointed Mayor of Central Singapore District. On 28 September 2015, it was announced that Tan will become Minister of State for Manpower from 1 October 2015. On 29 June 2020, Tan announced that he will not contest in the 2020 general election.

Awards

* PBM (Pingat Bakti Masyarakat) Public Service Medal (2002)

References

''Parliament of Singapore - CV of Mr Sam Tan Chin Siong ''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Sam Singaporean people of Hokkien descent Living people People's Action Party politicians 1958 births Members of the Parliament of Singapore