S. Iswaran

S. Iswaran (Tamil: எஸ் ஈஸ்வரன்; born 1962)[1] is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Minister for Transport since 2021 and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations since 2020. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he is a Member of the 14th Parliament and has been representing the West Coast ward of West Coast Group Representation Constituency (GRC) since 2001. He was previously Minister in the Prime Minister's Office (2011–2015), Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) (2015–2018) and Minister for Communications and Information (2018–2021).

The Honourable
S. Iswaran
எஸ் ஈஸ்வரன்
Iswaran in 2021
Minister for Transport
Assumed office
15 May 2021
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded byOng Ye Kung
ConstituencyWest Coast GRC
Minister for Communications and Information
In office
1 May 2018 – 14 May 2021
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded byYaacob Ibrahim
Succeeded byJosephine Teo
Minister for Trade and Industry
(Industry)
In office
1 October 2015 – 30 April 2018
Serving with Lim Hng Kiang (Trade)
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded byLim Hng Kiang
Succeeded byChan Chun Sing
Minister in Prime Minister's Office
In office
21 May 2011 – 30 September 2015
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded byLim Hwee Hua
Second Minister for Home Affairs
In office
21 May 2011 – 30 September 2015
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
MinisterTeo Chee Hean
Second Minister for Trade and Industry
In office
21 May 2011 – 30 September 2015
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
MinisterLim Hng Kiang
Member of Parliament for West Coast GRC (West Coast)
Assumed office
3 November 2001
Preceded byWan Soon Bee
Majority4,662 (3.36%)
Member of Parliament for West Coast GRC (Pasir Panjang)
In office
2 January 1997 – 18 October 2001
Personal details
Born1962[1]
Singapore
Political partyPeople's Action Party
Spouse(s)Kay Mary Taylor
Children3
Alma materUniversity of Adelaide
Harvard University

Before entering politics, Iswaran worked in various organisations in both the public and private sectors, including Temasek Holdings and the Ministry of Trade and Industry. He made his political debut in the 1997 general election when he contested as part of a four-member PAP team in West Coast GRC and won with 70.14% of the vote, becoming a Member of Parliament representing the Pasir Panjang ward. He also held directorships in various organisations throughout his political career.

Education

Iswaran was educated at Saint Andrew's School and National Junior College[2] before he went to the University of Adelaide, where he read economics and graduated with first class honours. He also holds a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University.[3]

Career

Before entering politics, Iswaran was Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Temasek Holdings (2003–2006), Director for International Trade at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore Indian Development Association, and Director of Strategic Development at Singapore Technologies (1996–1998).[4][5]

Throughout his political career, Iswaran concurrently held directorships in several organisations, including Quintiles Transnational, Sunningdale Tech,[6] Shin Corporation,[7] SciGen, PSA International, Sembcorp Industries,[8][9] and Hyflux.[5]

Political career

Iswaran made his political debut in the 1997 general election when he contested as part of a four-member People's Action Party (PAP) team in West Coast GRC and won with 70.14% of the vote, becoming a Member of Parliament representing the Pasir Panjang ward. He switched to representing the West Coast ward of West Coast GRC from the 2001 general election onwards.

From 1 September 2004 to 19 April 2006, Iswaran was Deputy Speaker of Parliament. On 1 July 2006, he was appointed Minister of State at the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

After the 2006 general election, on 1 April 2008, Iswaran was promoted to Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Trade and Industry. On 1 April 2009, he was given an additional appointment as Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Education.

Following the 2011 general election, Iswaran was promoted to full Minister in the Cabinet and appointed Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for Home Affairs, and Second Minister for Trade and Industry. After the 2015 general election, on 1 October 2015, he relinquished his three positions and took up the portfolio of Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) alongside Lim Hng Kiang, who was Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade). On 1 May 2018, he stepped down and became Minister for Communications and Information.

After the 2020 general election, Iswaran took up an additional appointment as Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations. On 15 May 2021, after a Cabinet reshuffle, Iswaran became Minister for Transport while concurrently holding his appointment as Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations.

Personal life

Iswaran is married to Kay Mary Taylor. They have a daughter and two sons.[10]

References
  1. "PARL | MP". www.parliament.gov.sg.
  2. "S Iswaran tells Mothership how to save a country in an unprecedented crisis: 1) Jobs 2) Jobs 3) Jobs". mothership.sg. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  3. Mahbubani, Kishore (2013). Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy: Building a Global Policy School in Asia. World Scientific: Singapore. p. 4. ISBN 978-9814417228.
  4. "S. Iswaran: Executive Profile & Biography - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  5. "RESIGNATION OF S ISWARAN AS DIRECTOR" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 September 2017.
  6. "Resignation Of Non-Executive Director (2) Cessation Of Alternate Director". Archived from the original on 16 September 2017.
  7. "Shin Corporation Public Company Limited 2006 Annual Report" (PDF). p. 51. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 May 2016.
  8. "SembCorp Industries Annual Report 2003". www.sembcorp.com. Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  9. "Mr S Iswaran's Directorships" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 September 2017.
  10. A New Champion for the Eurasian Community Archived 28 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine The New Eurasian - April–June 2012 Issue
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