SINGAPORE: Sovereign wealth fund GIC announced on Monday (Sept 25) the appointment of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong as deputy chairman of GIC’s board of directors. The appointment is to take effect on Oct 1.
DPM Wong’s appointment as deputy chairman for the GIC Board of Directors is the second role wherein he succeeded Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam. Mr Tharman, who was elected President on Sept 1, stepped down as GIC Board deputy chairman in July to mount his presidential bid. He also stepped down from his role as chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Singapore’s central bank and Mr Wong was appointed Chairman of the MAS Board of Directors on July 8.
The announcement, posted on GIC’s website, notes that since Nov 1, 2018, Mr Wong has served as a GIC Director, and since July 7 this year, he has been the chairman of the fund’s Investment Strategies Committee.
In Mr Wong’s role as Deputy Chairman, he will assist the Chairman, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in leading the Board in overseeing the fund’s long-term asset allocation and portfolio performance.
Aside from being Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Wong is also the country’s Finance Minister and the Chairman of the Singapore Economic Development Board’s International Advisory Council, as well as a member of the Future Economy Council, the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council and the National Research Foundation Board, the announcement noted.
“Mr Wong began his career as a civil servant, and held positions such as Chief Executive of the Energy Market Authority and the Principal Private Secretary to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. He was elected a Member of Parliament in May 2011 and subsequently held ministerial appointments in Defence, Education, Communications and Information, Culture, Community and Youth, and National Development.
Mr Wong obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, respectively. He also holds a Master in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School,” his biography page on the GIC website reads.
The Finance Minister is the heir apparent to PM Lee, saying last year, “It’s quite clear that we have settled the succession issue in our team… I’m honoured by the choice,” but adding that when exactly this will take place hasn’t been decided.
“The Prime Minister has said that he would like it to be sooner and he never fails to remind me that this is something that’s on his mind. But I have also said that we will do it at a time when we are ready… We will let Singaporeans know in due course,” Yahoo!News Singapore reported him as saying in September of last year. /TISG
Lawrence Wong says he’s honoured by ‘succession choice’ and sees himself as a ‘servant-leader’