Sim Ann ( zh, s=沈颖, p=Shěn Yíng; born 1975) is a Singaporean politician and former civil servant who has been serving as Senior Minister of State for National Development since 2020 and Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs since 2021. 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), she 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

Bukit Timah Bukit Timah, often abbreviated as Bt Timah, is a planning area and residential estate located in the westernmost part of the Central Region of Singapore. Bukit Timah lies roughly from the Central Business District, bordering the Central Wa ...

division of Holland–Bukit Timah GRC since 2011. She has also been serving as the party's Deputy Party Whip since 2019. A recipient of the

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, Sim started her career in the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

and had worked in the Ministry of Health (MOH),

Ministry of Trade and Industry A Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...

(MTI) and Prime Minister's Office (PMO). She made her political debut in the 2011 general election as part of a four-member PAP team contesting in Holland–Bukit Timah GRC, and won 60.1% of the vote.

Education

Sim was educated at

Raffles Girls' School Raffles Girls' School (RGS) is an independent girls' secondary school located in Braddell, Singapore. Established in 1879, it is one of the oldest schools in Singapore. RGS, together with its affiliated school Raffles Institution, offers a six- ...

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 Juni ...

before graduating from Exeter College 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 ...

in 1997 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 ...

(later promoted to

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

by seniority) degree in philosophy, politics and economics (PPE). She subsequently went on to complete a

degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1998. She also completed a

postgraduate diploma A postgraduate diploma (PgD, PgDip, PGDip, PG Dip., PGD, Dipl. PG, PDE) is a postgraduate qualification awarded after a university degree, which supplements the original degree and awards them with a graduate diploma. Countries that award postg ...

in translation and interpretation at the

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 ...

in 2005.

Career

Civil Service career

Sim started her career in the

. From 1998 to 2000, she was Assistant Director for Finance Policy and Planning at the Ministry of Health (MOH). From 2000 to 2003, she was Assistant Director for Implementation Planning at the

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 ...

(MHA). From 2003 to 2006, she was Deputy Director for Trade at the

(MTI). From 2007 to 2009, Sim was seconded to the

International Enterprise Singapore International Enterprise Singapore ( abbreviation: IE Singapore) was a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Government of Singapore that facilitated the growth of Singapore-based companies overseas and promoted intern ...

as its Regional Director based in Shanghai, where she headed a team assisting Singapore-based companies with investment and sales in East China. From 2009 to 2011, she was Director of the National Population Secretariat and led efforts to restructure the secretariat into the National Population and Talent Division under the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

Political career

Sim entered politics when she joined a four-member

team to contest in Holland–Bukit Timah GRC during the 2011 general election. The PAP team won with 60.08% of the vote against the

Singapore Democratic Party The Singapore Democratic Party (abbreviation: SDP) is a politcal party in Singapore. The party was founded on 6 August 1980 by Chiam See Tong. During the 1991 general election, Ling How Doong and Cheo Chai Chen won Bukit Gombak SMC and Nee ...

so Sim became a Member of Parliament representing the

ward of Holland–Bukit Timah GRC. On 21 May 2011, she was appointed Senior Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Law and

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

. On 1 November 2012, she relinquished her appointment at the Ministry of Law and became Senior Parliamentary Secretary at the

Ministry of Communications and Information The Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI; ms, Kementerian Perhubungan dan Penerangan; zh, 通讯及新闻部; ta, தொடர்பு, தகவல் அமைச்சு) is a ministry of the Government of Singapore respons ...

while continuing to hold her appointment at the Ministry of Education. On 1 September 2013, she was promoted to

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 ...

and continued serving at the Ministries of Education, and Communications and Information. During the 2015 general election, Sim contested as part of a four-member PAP team in Holland–Bukit Timah GRC again and they won with 66.6% of the vote against the

. Following the election, on 1 October 2015, Sim was promoted to Senior Minister of State and appointed to 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 Eco ...

and

Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY; ms, Kementerian Kebudayaan, Masyarakat dan Belia; ; ta, கலாசார, சமூக, இளையர்துறை அமைச்சு) is a ministry of the Government of Singapore r ...

. She was also appointed Deputy Government Whip. On 22 August 2016, she relinquished her appointment at the Ministry of Finance and switched to the

while continuing to serve at the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. On 1 May 2018, she switched from the Ministry of Trade and Industry to the

, while continuing to serve at the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. At the 2020 general election, Sim joined the four-member PAP team contesting in Holland–Bukit Timah GRC again and they won with 66.36% of the vote against the

. On 27 July 2020, Sim was appointed Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of National Development and

. On 15 May 2021, she relinquished her appointment at the Ministry of Communications and Information and became Senior Minister of State at the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

while concurrently serving as Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of National Development.

Personal life

Sim is married to Mok Ying Jang, a doctor who is the Deputy Chief Operating Officer of the National Healthcare Group Polyclinics. Mok was also a member of the first Singaporean team to climb

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...

in 1998. Sim and Mok have two sons and one daughter.

References

External links

*
Sim Ann
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 ...

Sim Ann
PAP media release, 14 April 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sim, Ann Members of the Parliament of Singapore People's Action Party politicians Singaporean women in politics President's Scholars Singaporean people of Hokkien descent Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Stanford University alumni 1975 births Living people Raffles Girls' Secondary School alumni Hwa Chong Junior College alumni