Press Statement from the Prime Minister on Changes to Cabinet and Other Appointments

31 MAR 2008

31 Mar 2008 Posted in Press releases

  1. The Prime Minister will make several changes to his Cabinet and other appointments. The changes will take effect from 1 April 2008, unless otherwise stated.

Changes to Ministerial Appointments

  1. Professor S. Jayakumar will relinquish his appointment as Minister for Law with effect from 1 May 2008. He will continue as Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security. He will continue to oversee foreign policy matters which cut across different ministries and remain in charge of foreign policy issues which involve legal negotiation or international adjudication. He will also continue to chair an Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change.
  1. Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam will relinquish his appointment as Minister for Education and continue as Minister for Finance.
  1. Dr Ng Eng Hen will relinquish his appointment as Minister for Manpower, and will be appointed as Minister for Education. He will continue as Second Minister for Defence.
  1. Dr Vivian Balakrishnan will relinquish his appointment as Second Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts. He will continue as Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports.

New Office-Holder

  1. Mr K. Shanmugam will be appointed Minister for Law, taking over from Professor S. Jayakumar, and will concurrently be appointed as Second Minister for Home Affairs. His appointment will take effect from 1 May 2008.

Appointment as Acting Minister

  1. Mr Gan Kim Yong will be promoted to Senior Minister of State. He will relinquish his appointment in Education, and will be appointed as the Acting Minister for Manpower. Promotions and Changes to Ministers of State
  1. Dr Balaji Sadasivan will relinquish his appointment as Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts. He will continue as Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
  1. Mr Heng Chee How will relinquish his appointment as Minister of State in the Ministry of Health, and will be appointed Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, assisting Mr Lim Boon Heng, the Minister in charge of ageing issues, on re-employment of older workers and active ageing programmes.
  1. Mrs Lim Hwee Hua will be promoted to Senior Minister of State, and will keep her appointments in the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport.
  1. Mr S. Iswaran will be promoted to Senior Minister of State, and will continue in the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
  1. Ms Grace Fu will be promoted to Senior Minister of State, and will be appointed in the Ministry of Education, concurrently with her present appointment in the Ministry of National Development.
  1. RAdm (NS) Lui Tuck Yew will be promoted to Senior Minister of State and will be appointed in the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, concurrently with his present appointment in the Ministry of Education.

Promotions and Changes to Parliamentary Secretaries

  1. Mr Hawazi Daipi will be appointed as Senior Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Health, concurrently with his present appointment in the Ministry of Manpower.
  1. Mr Masagos Zulkifli will be appointed as Senior Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, concurrently with his present appointment in the Ministry of Education.
  1. Mr Teo Ser Luck will be promoted to Senior Parliamentary Secretary, and will be appointed in the Ministry of Transport, concurrently with his present appointment in the Ministry of Community Development, Youth & Sports.

Last updated on 26 Nov 2012