Tan Kiat How (Chinese: 陈杰豪; pinyin: Chén Jiéháo; born 1977)[1] is a Singaporean politician and former civil servant who has been serving as Senior Minister of State for National Development and Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information concurrently since 2022.[2] A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Kampong Chai Chee division of East Coast GRC since 2020.

Tan Kiat How
陈杰豪
Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information
Assumed office
13 June 2022
Serving with Janil Puthucheary
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Lawrence Wong
MinisterJosephine Teo
Preceded bySim Ann
(2021)
Senior Minister of State for National Development
Assumed office
13 June 2022
Serving with Sim Ann
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Lawrence Wong
MinisterDesmond Lee
Minister of State for Communications and Information
In office
15 May 2021 – 12 June 2022
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
MinisterJosephine Teo
Minister of State for National Development
In office
27 July 2020 – 12 June 2022
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
MinisterDesmond Lee
Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office
In office
27 July 2020 – 14 May 2021
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
MinisterIndranee Rajah
Maliki Osman
Tan See Leng
Member of Parliament
for East Coast GRC
(Kampong Chai Chee)
Assumed office
10 July 2020
Preceded byLee Yi Shyan
Majority7,769 (6.78%)
Personal details
Born1977 (age 46–47)[1]
Singapore
Political partyPeople's Action Party
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Illinois (BA, BEng)
Stanford University

Prior to his appointment as Senior Minister of State, he served as Minister of State for National Development, Minister of State for Communications and Information and Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office between 2020 and 2021.

A computer engineer by profession, Tan had worked at the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) and was the chief executive officer of the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).

He made his political debut in the 2020 general election when he joined a five-member PAP team contesting in East Coast GRC, and they won with 53.39% of the vote. Tan was appointed Minister of State shortly after being elected, and appointed to the Prime Minister's Office from 2020 to 2021. In 2022, Tan was promoted Senior Minister of State after a Cabinet reshuffle.

Education

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Tan was educated at Hwa Chong Junior College[3] before he went to the University of Illinois to study computer engineering and economics.[4] He also completed a master's degree in management at Stanford University and was a Mason Fellow at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.[3][4]

Career

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A computer engineer by profession, Tan had worked at the Ministry of Communications and Information, where he served as Deputy Secretary (Cyber and Technology)[4] and helped to develop the Intelligent Nation 2015 blueprint.[5] He was also the Chief Executive Officer of the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) from January 2017 to June 2020.[4][6] During his tenure, the IMDA awarded spectrum for the deployment of fifth-generation mobile networks[6] and established the SG Digital Office in May 2020.[6]

Political career

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Tan was announced as a People's Action Party (PAP) candidate contesting as part of a five-member PAP team in East Coast GRC during the 2020 general election.[7][8] On 10 July 2020, the PAP team in East Coast GRC won with 53.39% of the vote against the Workers' Party[9] so Tan became a Member of Parliament representing the Kampong Chai Chee ward of East Coast GRC.

On 27 July 2020, Tan was appointed Minister of State at the Prime Minister's Office and Ministry of National Development. On 15 May 2021, he was transferred from the Prime Minister's Office to the Ministry of Communications and Information, while continuing to concurrently serve at the Ministry of National Development.[1] Tan was promoted Senior Minister of State on 13 June 2022 while serving both portfolios of Communications and Information and National Development.[10]

Tan was appointed as Vice-Chairperson of East Coast Town Council (ECTC) since 2020.

Personal life

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Tan is married and has a child.[6] On 3 February 2022, Tan revealed he tested positive for COVID-19, along with his wife a day before.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "MP | Parliament of Singapore".
  2. ^ "Changes to Cabinet and Other Appointments (June 2022)". Prime Minister's Office Singapore. 6 June 2022.
  3. ^ a b "High-flying new face? IMDA CEO tipped as PAP's pick for East Coast GRC". AsiaOne. 16 June 2020. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d "TAN Kiat How". www.iss.nus.edu.sg. Archived from the original on 27 June 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  5. ^ "TAN KIAT HOW (陈杰豪)" (PDF).
  6. ^ a b c d "IMDA chief executive Tan Kiat How to step down". TODAYonline. Archived from the original on 23 June 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  7. ^ "GE2020: East Coast GRC to see fight between PAP and WP; DPM Heng replaces Lim Swee Say". CNA. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  8. ^ hermesauto (30 June 2020). "Singapore GE2020: Heng Swee Keat to helm East Coast GRC in election". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  9. ^ hermesauto (11 July 2020). "GE2020 official results: Heng Swee Keat's PAP team wins East Coast GRC against WP, with 53% of votes". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  10. ^ Lim, Min Zhang (6 June 2022). "Tan Kiat How, Eric Chua and Rahayu Mahzam to be promoted in latest Cabinet changes". The Straits Times. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  11. ^ Abu Baker, Jalelah (4 February 2022). "MPs for East Coast, Tanjong Pagar GRCs test positive for COVID-19". CNA. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
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Parliament of Singapore
Preceded by Member of Parliament for
East Coast GRC (Kampong Chai Chee)

2020 – present
Incumbent