Lim Swee Say (; born 13 July 1954) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Secretary-General of the

National Trades 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 5 ...

between 2005 and 2015, Minister for Manpower between 2015 and 2018,

Minister in the Prime Minister's Office A Minister in the Prime Minister's Office ( he, שר במשרד ראש הממשלה, ''Sar BeMisrad Rosh HaMemshala'') is a minister and member of the Cabinet of Israel appointed by the Prime Minister of Israel to handle various issues on behalf o ...

between 2004 and 2015, Second Minister for National Development between 2004 and 2005, and Minister for the Environment between 2000 and 2004. 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 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 Buona Vista ward 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 1997 and 2001, Holland–Bukit Panjang GRC between 2001 and 2006, Holland–Bukit Timah GRC between 2006 and 2011, and the Bedok ward of

East Coast GRC The East Coast Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency in the eastern area of Singapore. The areas of the Group Representation Constituency consists of locations such as East Coast Park, Bedok, Chang ...

between 2011 and 2020. Lim was appointed as a non-executive independent director in Singtel in 2021.

Early career

Lim served as chief executive of the National Computer Board between 1986 and 1991, and later as chairman between 1994 and 1998. He also served as deputy managing director at 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. Hi ...

(EDB) based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

between 1991 and 1993, and later as managing director between 1994 and 1996.

Political career

Lim made his political debut in the 1997 general election as part of a five-member PAP team contesting in

, led by Prime Minister

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 was elected in a walkover. He was on the PAP's team in Holland–Bukit Panjang GRC at the 2001 general election, and in Holland–Bukit Timah GRC at the 2006 general election, and was elected unopposed on both occasions. At the 2011 general election, Lim stood in

, where the PAP's team defeated the team from the opposition Workers' Party by 59,992 votes (54.8%) to 49,429 (45.2%). Lim served as Deputy Secretary-General of the

(NTUC) from 1997 to 1999. He also served on the Committee on Singapore's Competitiveness from 1997 to 1998, and chaired its Sub-committee on Manpower Development. In 1999, Lim was appointed as

Minister of State for Trade and Industry The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) was a United Kingdom government department formed on 19 October 1970. It was replaced with the creation of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Department for Innovation ...

and Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts. Lim was made a member of the PAP's Central Executive Committee in 1999 and served as the chairman of the party's

youth wing A youth wing is a subsidiary, autonomous, or independently allied front of a larger organization (usually a political party but occasionally another type of organization) that is formed in order to rally support for that organization from members ...

between 2000 and 2004. Lim was made the Acting Minister for the Environment on 1 October 2000. He became a full minister of the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

on 23 November 2001.

Minister in Prime Minister's Office (2004–2015)

On 12 August 2004, Lim was appointed a Minister in the Prime Minister's Office. He also served as the Second Minister for National Development from 12 August 2004 to 29 May 2006. In 2005, Lim became the Deputy Secretary-General of the NTUC for the second time (while continuing to serve concurrently as a Minister without portfolio in the Prime Minister's Office). In 2007, he was made the Secretary-General of the NTUC. In 2014, Lim appeared on Singapore's

Mediacorp Channel 8 Channel 8 ( zh, 8頻道) is a Singaporean free-to-air television channel, airing in Mandarin Chinese. It was created by Television Singapura on 31 August 1963 with experimental broadcasts, before going official on 23 November that year. The ch ...

episod
"Hear Me Out"
to respond to the criticisms against him and clarify himself on a few topics such as his Zorro costume
"Cheaper Better Faster"
"Better, Betterer, Betterest"
"Deaf Frog"
and why Singapore implements Progressive Wage Model instead of

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...

Minister for Manpower (2015–2018)

On 4 May 2015, Lim relinquished his post of Minister in Prime Minister's Office and NTUC secretary-general (in line with the NTUC's retirement policies) and was appointed the Minister for Manpower. Lim retired from the cabinet on 1 May 2018, with his Manpower portfolio succeeded to

Josephine Teo Josephine Teo Li Min ( née Yong; zh, s=杨莉明, t=楊莉明, poj=Iôⁿ Lī-bêng, p=Yáng Lìmíng; born 1968) is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of the Cy ...

. On 5 May, Lim was awarded the Distinguished Comrade of Labour during the May Day Awards ceremony.

Retirement from politics

In 2020, Lim announced that he would be retiring from politics, and not stand for the 2020 general election.

Education

Lim attended

Catholic High School Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

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 graduating from Loughborough University in 1976 with a first class honours degree in electronics, computer and systems engineering under a scholarship conferred by the

Singapore Armed Forces The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military services of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A military component of the Ministry of Defence (MIND ...

(SAF) in 1973. He subsequently went on to complete a master's degree in management at

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 1991.

Personal life

Lim married to Elaine Cheong Siew Boon in 1981, introduced by a mutual friend. The couple had one daughter and one son. Cheong died on 6 July 2021, after battling stage 4 cancer since 2017. He is a Roman Catholic.

References

External links

Lim Swee Say
at cabinet.gov.sg
Lim Swee Say
at parliament.gov.sg {{DEFAULTSORT:Lim, Swee Say Members of the Cabinet of Singapore Members of the Parliament of Singapore People's Action Party politicians Stanford University alumni National Junior College alumni Catholic High School, Singapore alumni Alumni of Loughborough University Singaporean people of Teochew descent 1954 births Living people Environment ministers of Singapore Singaporean trade unionists Ministers for Manpower of Singapore