Yu-Foo Yee Shoon (; born 17 February 1950) is a former Singaporean politician. A member of the country's 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 served as 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) from 1984 to 2011. Her political appointments included

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

South West District South West Delhi is one of the eleven administrative districts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi in India. Kapashera serves as the administrative headquarters of South West Delhi. South West Delhi is bounded by the districts of West De ...

of Singapore and Minister of State at the

Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) was a ministry of the Government of Singapore tasked with building a "cohesive and resilient" society in Singapore. On 1 November 2012, the MCYS was restructured and became the Min ...

Political career

Yu-Foo was first elected to Parliament in the 1984 general election. She was then one of only three female Members of Parliament at the time (and she went on to become one of the longest serving women politicians in Singapore). In June 1999, Yu-Foo was appointed Senior Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Community Development and Sports (MCDS). In November 2001, Yu-Foo was appointed Mayor of the Bukit Timah Community Development Council (CDC), which subsequently expanded to become the South West CDC. With her appointment, she became the first woman Mayor in Singapore. In August 2004, Yu-Foo was appointed Minister of State at the

(MCYS). At the 2011 general election, Yu-Foo retired from politics after serving six terms in Parliament. She was succeeded as Minister of State at the MCYS by

Halimah Yacob Halimah Yacob (Jawi script: ; born 23 August 1954) is a Singaporean politician and former lawyer who has been serving as the eighth president of Singapore since 2017. Prior to her presidency, she was the country's Speaker of the Parliament of S ...

on 21 May 2011.

Career outside politics

Yu-Foo started her career as a Senior Industrial Relations Officer with the

National Trade Union Congress The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), also known as the Singapore National Trades Union Congress (SNTUC) internationally, is the sole national trade union centre in Singapore. NTUC is at the heart of the Labour Movement which comprises 59 ...

(NTUC) soon after graduating from university. Over the years, she has been Chairman, Vice-President, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General of the NTUC. Her other appointments have included: * Member of the Professional Advisory Council of NTUC Childcare Co-operative Ltd * Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Singapore National Co-operative Federation (SNCF) * First woman to chair the NTUC Central Co-operative Fund Committee (CCFC) She has also served as a board member of several statutory boards, co-operatives and listed companies such as: * Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) *

Singapore Telecommunications Singapore Telecommunications Limited, commonly known as Singtel, is a Singaporean telecommunications conglomerate and one of the four major telcos operating in the country. The company is the largest mobile network operator in Singapore with ...

* NTUC Insurance Co-operative (INCOME) *

NTUC FairPrice NTUC FairPrice is the largest supermarket chain in Singapore. The company is a co-operative of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC). The group has 100 supermarkets across the island, with over 160 outlets of Cheers convenience stores isl ...

* NTUC Childcare *

National Environment Agency National Environment Agency (NEA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment of the Government of Singapore. NEA is responsible for improving and sustaining clean and green environment in Singapore. Its r ...

(NEA) *

Jurong Town Corporation JTC Corporation (JTC), formerly the Jurong Town Corporation, is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry that champions sustainable industrial development. It master-plans clean, green and smart estates to create attractive de ...

(JTC) *

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)

Achievements and accolades

Named "Woman of the Year" in 1995 by ''

Her World ''Her World'' is a monthly English-language magazine published in Singapore targeted at the female professionals reading market. It is also the first English-language women's magazine to be published in Malaysia and Singapore. History and profil ...

'' magazine, Yu-Foo was awarded the Rochdale Medal by the Singapore National Co-operative Federation in 1997. In 2005, she received the Alumni Achievement Award from the Nanyang Technological University. In May 2008, she was conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Education by Wheelock College, Boston, USA. The

Singapore Council of Women's Organisations The Singapore Council of Women's Organisations (SCWO) is an umbrella organisation founded in 1980 in order to coordinate the efforts of women's groups in Singapore. The organisation represents many diverse women's groups and advocates for women's r ...

(SCWO) inducted her to its Wall of Fame in 2009.

Education

Yu-Foo attended

Nanyang Girls' High School Nanyang Girls' High School (NYGH) is an independent girls' secondary school in Bukit Timah, Singapore. Founded in 1917, it is one of the oldest schools in the country. NYGH offers a six-year Integrated Programme, which allows students to skip the ...

from 1962 to 1967, and graduated from

Nanyang University Nanyang University (, also known as Nantah (), was a university in Singapore between 1956 and 1980. During its existence, it was Singapore's only private university in the Chinese language. In 1980, Nanyang University was merged with the Univer ...

in 1971 with a

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanmar, ...

. In 1996, she completed a

Master of Business A Master of Business (MBus) or Master of Business Studies (MBS) is an academic degree refers to a qualification in the degree of master that can be obtained by students of recognized universities and colleges who complete the relevant approved po ...

at the

Nanyang Technological Institute 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 i ...

Family background

Yu-Foo was born in Singapore in 1950. Her father, Foo Tuck Sun, was a Hainanese immigrant who served as principal of

Pei Chun Public School Toa Payoh (, ta, தோ பாயோ) is a planning area and matured residential town located in the northern part of the Central Region of Singapore. Toa Payoh planning area borders Bishan and Serangoon to the north, the Central Water Catc ...

from the 1940s until his retirement in 1971, and her maiden name is Fu. She is married to Yu Lee Wu, an engineering lecturer. The couple have three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yu-Foo, Yee Shoon Members of the Parliament of Singapore People's Action Party politicians Singaporean women in politics Singaporean politicians of Chinese descent Hainanese people 1950 births Living people Nanyang University alumni Singaporean trade unionists