S. Dhanabalan
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Suppiah Dhanabalan ( ta, சு. தனபாலன்; born 8 August 1937), also known as S. Dhanabalan, is a Singaporean former politician who served as
Minister for Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...
between 1980 and 1988. 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 was the Member of Parliament (MP) representing Kallang SMC between 1976 and 1991, and the Kuo Chuan ward of
Toa Payoh GRC Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency (GRC) was a group representation constituency that from 1988 to 1997 comprised Kuo Chuan, Boon Teck and Toa Payoh, in the Central Region of Singapore. The MPs of Toa Payoh GRC was Ong Teng Cheong, Da ...
between 1991 and 1996. Dhanabalan was a prominent political leader in Singapore during the 1980s, where he served as
Minister for Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...
between 1980 and 1988, Minister for National Development between 1987 and 1992, and Minister for Trade and Industry between 1992 and 1993 under Prime Ministers
Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...
and
Goh Chok Tong Goh Chok Tong (; born 20 May 1941) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1990 and 2004, and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party between 1992 and 2004. He was the Parliament of Singapore, ...
. He had also served as Leader of the House between 1985 and 1987.


Early life

Dhanabalan was born in 1937 to Arumugam Suppiah, a clerk at a naval base and Gunaretnam Suppiah. He was the third child and the eldest son in a family of three girls and three boys. Born in a
Singaporean Indian Indian Singaporeans (Tamil: ') are Singaporeans of Indian or South Asian ancestry, who constitute 9.0% of the country's citizens, making them the third largest ancestry and ethnic group in Singapore. While contact with ancient India left a de ...
family of
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...
descent, he was however raised as a
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
. Later in his life, he became a devout Christian ( Brethren).


Education

He attended
Victoria School Victoria School (VS) is a government autonomous boys' secondary school in Siglap, Singapore. Established in 1876, it is Singapore's second oldest state secondary school. It offers a six-year Integrated Programme, which allows students to skip t ...
before graduating from the
University of Malaya The University of Malaya ( ms, Universiti Malaya, UM; abbreviated as UM or informally the Malayan University) is a public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest and highest ranking Malaysian institution of highe ...
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 second class honours degree in
economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
.


Early career

Dhanabalan joined 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 ...
as an administrative officer between 1960 and 1968. During his tenure, he helped to established the
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 ...
and
DBS Bank DBS Bank Limited, often known as DBS, is a Singaporean multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at the Marina Bay Financial Centre in the Marina Bay district of Singapore. The bank was previously known as The Dev ...
. He subsequently left 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 joined DBS as a vice-president between 1968 and 1970. He was later promoted to the position executive vice-president and continue to serve between 1970 and 1978.


Political career

In the 1976 Singapore general election, Dhanabalan was elected as Member of Parliament for Kallang SMC, as a
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) candidate. During the
1980 Singaporean general election General elections were held in Singapore on 23 December 1980. The result was a victory for the People's Action Party, which won all 75 seats, the last of four consecutive elections in which they repeated the feat. Voter turnout was 95.5%, althoug ...
's rallies, Dhanabalan disparaged opposition politician
Chiam See Tong Chiam See Tong (; born 12 March 1935) is a Singaporean retired politician and lawyer who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Potong Pasir SMC between 1984 and 2011. He was one of the two opposition MPs in Parliament. Lawyer by profess ...
on his professional competence. He was subsequently sued by Chiam for defamation and he issued a public apology over it. Dhanabalan was subsequently promoted to a Cabinet Minister and served in various portfolios, including Foreign Affairs, Culture, Community Development, National Development and Trade and Industry. When Lee Kuan Yew was preparing for his successor, he identified a handful of ministers he considered suitable for the job, including
Tony Tan Tony Tan Keng Yam (; born 7 February 1940) is a Singaporean former politician who served as the seventh president of Singapore between 2011 and 2017. He did not seek for a second term as president in 2017 due to a constitutional amendment. ...
,
Ong Teng Cheong Ong Teng Cheong ( zh, c=王鼎昌, p=Wáng Dǐngchāng; 22 January 1936 – 8 February 2002) was a Singaporean politician who served as the fifth president of Singapore between 1993 and 1999. He was also the first elected president in Singapor ...
, Goh Chok Tong and Dhanabalan. In his public account of why he chose them and what he felt were their strengths and weaknesses, Lee said his preferred successor was Tony Tan, who went on to become the 7th
President of the Republic of Singapore The president of Singapore is the head of state of the Republic of Singapore. The role of the president is to safeguard the reserves and the integrity of the public service. The presidency is largely ceremonial, with the Cabinet led by the prime ...
. He felt that while the other three were all of prime ministerial calibre, each had a particular weakness: Goh was too stiff, lacking eloquence in
public speaking Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...
, and Ong was too closely aligned with the Chinese-speaking masses, lacking appeal to other communities. In the case of Dhanabalan, Lee felt the 76% ethnic Chinese electorate was not yet ready for a prime minister of Indian ethnicity. Lee left the ultimate decision to the second generation ministers themselves, who went on to choose Goh. Dhanabalan retired from Parliament in 1996.


Timeline

*1960 : Graduated from university and joined the civil service. *1961–1968 : Economist with Economic Development Board. *1968–1978 : Helped to establish the Development Bank of Singapore. *1976–1991 : Member of Parliament for Kallang. *1980–1988 : Minister for Foreign Affairs. *1981–1984 : Minister for Culture. *1981–2005 : Director of Government Investment Corporation. *1984–1986 : Minister for Community Development. *1986–1991 : Minister for National Development. *1991 : Retired from politics. *1991–1993 : Returned to government as Minister for Trade and Industry. *1993–1996 : Chairman of Singapore Labour Foundation. *1996–1998 : Chairman of Singapore Airlines. *1996–2013 : Chairman of Temasek Holdings. *1998 : Appointed a permanent member of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights. *1999–2005 : Chairman of DBS Group Holdings. *2004–present : Member of the Council of Presidential Advisors. *2007 : Received the Order of Temasek (Second Class). *2015 : Received the Order of Temasek (First Class)


Career after politics

* Senior Advisor, Nuri Holdings – 1994–1999 * Chairman,
Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines (abbreviation: SIA) is the flag carrier airline of the Republic of Singapore with its Airline hub, hub located at Singapore Changi Airport. The airline is notable for highlighting the Singapore Girl as its central figure in ...
– 1996–1998 * Chairman,
Temasek Holdings Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited, or simply Temasek, is a Singaporean state holding company owned by the Government of Singapore. Incorporated on 25 June 1974, Temasek owns and manages a total of US$496.59 billion (S$671 billion) in assets u ...
– 1996–2013 * Chairman, Temasek Trust - Current * Chairman,
DBS Bank DBS Bank Limited, often known as DBS, is a Singaporean multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at the Marina Bay Financial Centre in the Marina Bay district of Singapore. The bank was previously known as The Dev ...
– 1999–2005 * Chairman, Parameswara Holdings Ltd – Current * Director,
Government of Singapore Investment Corporation GIC Private Limited is a sovereign wealth fund in Singapore that manages its foreign reserves. Established by the Government of Singapore in 1981 as the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, its mission is to preserve and enhance the ...
– Current


Other contributions

* Member,
Presidential Council for Minority Rights The Presidential Council for Minority Rights (PCMR) is a non-elected government body in Singapore established in 1970, the main function of which is to scrutinize most of the bills passed by Parliament to ensure that they do not discriminate ...
– Current * Member,
Council of Presidential Advisers The powers of the president of Singapore are divided into those which the president may exercise at their own discretion, and those they must exercise in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet of Singapore or of a minister acting under the gener ...
– 2004–Current * Member and Council chairman Emeritus, Asia Business Council – Current * Founder Member,
Singapore International Foundation The Singapore International Foundation (SIF; ; ) is a not-for-profit organisation established on 1 August 1991. Arts for Good Arts and culture can aid sustainable development, particularly in fostering inclusive societies and promoting susta ...
* President,
Singapore Indian Development Association The Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) is a self-help group (SHG) for the Singaporean Indian community. Set up to focus on educational and socio-economic matters, its mission is to “build a well-educated, resilient and confident co ...
(SINDA) – 1996–2002 * Chairman,
YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
Advisory Council, YMCA of Singapore - 2010-2018


Personal life

Dhanabalan is a devout Christian ( Brethren) and attends a small church in Bukit Panjang – Bukit Panjang Gospel Chapel. He is married to Christine Tan Khoon Hiap, a
Chinese Singaporean Chinese Singaporeans () are Singaporeans of Chinese descent. Chinese Singaporeans constitute 75.9% of the Singaporean citizen population according to the official census, making them the largest ethnic group among them. As early as the 10th ...
of
Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...
ancestry and they have one son, Ramesh Dhanabalan, and one daughter, Shandini Dhanabalan.


References


External links


Australian Financial Review article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhanabalan, S Members of the Cabinet of Singapore Singaporean Protestants Converts to Protestantism from Hinduism Members of the Parliament of Singapore Singaporean Baptists Singaporean people of Indian descent Temasek Holdings People's Action Party politicians Singaporean people of Tamil descent Victoria School, Singapore alumni 1937 births Living people Recipients of the Darjah Utama Temasek Singaporean politicians of Indian descent Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Singapore Ministers for Trade and Industry of Singapore