Lawrence Wong

Born on 18 December 1972, Lawrence Wong Shyun Tsai

Lawrence Wong Shyun Tsai 黄循财
Party Affiliation	PAP
Current Role	Prime Minister & Minister for Finance concurrently
Past Roles	• National Development Minister •
Others	• MP for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC • PAP Secretary-General • GIC Board Member • Chairperson of GIC’s Investment Strategies Committee
Background
Education	• •
Personal Details
Age	52
Others	• Married with no kids •

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Political Career

• Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth
• Ministry of National Development
• Ministry of Education
• Minister for Finance since 2021

• Deputy Chairman of MAS since 1 June 2021
• previously served as a member of the MAS Board from June 2011 to August 2016.
• Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Board of Directors for the period from 8 July 2023 to 31 May 2026. Out of 12 members, 5 are PAP politicians.
• Current Board of Directors of the MAS (with effect from 8 July 2023)
  1. Lawrence Wong (Chairman), ex-DPM, current PM and Minister for Finance
  2. DPM Gan Kim Yong (Deputy Chairman), Minister for Trade and Industry
  3. Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies
  4. Alvin Tan, Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth
  5. Peter Ong (Chairman of Risk Committee), Chairman, Enterprise Singapore
  6. Chaly Mah (Chairman of Audit Committee), Chairman, NetLink NBN Management Pte Ltd
  7. Lim Hng Kiang, Special Advisor, Ministry of Trade and Industry
  8. Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, Chief Health Scientist, Ministry of Health and Executive Director, MOH Office for Healthcare Transformation
  9. Lucien Wong, Attorney-General, Attorney-General’s Chambers
  10. Mrs Deborah Ong, Retired Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
  11. Mr Ng Wai King, Managing Partner, WongPartnership
  12. Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director, MAS

• co-chaired the Multi- Ministry Taskforce, which oversaw the Singapore Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Deputy Chairman of GIC (current)

As Deputy Prime Minister (DPM), he launched Forward Singapore (Forward SG) exercise in June 2022, a nationwide exercise to engage Singaporeans widely, culminating in a lengthy 180-page report which purportedly gathered dialogues and engagement sessions over 16 months.

Prior to entering politics, Lawrence Wong was a civil servant. He started his career as an economist, and held positions across various government ministries. He was also the Chief Executive of the Energy Market Authority.

Lawrence Wong obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. He also holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School.

For the full list, refer to https://web.archive.org/web/20250218193940/https://www.parliament.gov.sg/mps/list-of-current-mps/mp/details/lawrence-wong

Controversy

"Healthy" and "Stabilised" Housing Market comment

• 2015 - answered reporters (reported on 30 Dec) that Singapore's housing market is now "healthy" and "stabilised" and is "on track for a soft landing" as Minister for National Development

• 

  Decreasing numbers of BTO flats from HDB over the years 2011 to 2016

• 2025 Jan - "we will always keep public housing affordable for Singaporeans,” Lawrence Wong said, as reported by state media CNA, during a dialogue themed “The Singapore Dream” with 900 students
• 2025 Jan - online comments refuted his words, saying ordinary citizens have to take out 30-year loans just to afford even small 3-room HDB flats

Withheld fact that S Iswaran was arrested

• 2023 Jul - on 12 July, PM Lee and then-DPM Lawrence Wong only revealed that S Iswaran is assisting in an investigation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), but he was actually arrested one day before this revelation
• CPIB (under PMO's office) confirmed on 14 July that Iswaran was arrested on Tuesday (11 July) and that he is now out on bail.
• Without mentioning the arrest, PM Lee said on 13 July that he has asked Iswaran to take a leave of absence until the investigation concludes.
• then-DPM Wong vowed that the government and the People’s Action Party (PAP) will remain transparent and accountable, even if the information is potentially damaging or embarrassing, “We will maintain a tough, zero tolerance stance against corruption. We will continue to uphold stringent standards of honesty, integrity and probity that Singaporeans expect of their political leaders.”

'Weeping Politicians'

Lawrence Wong joined the growing ranks of 'weeping politicians' during a Parliament session at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic (2020 ~ 2023)

• 25 Mar 2020 - as the National Development Minister, Lawrence Wong broke down in tears midway through a speech in Parliament thanking healthcare workers.

• 

  Lawrence Wong as National Development Minister weeping in Parliament in 2020

Personal Life

• firs marriage - ended in divorce after 3 years of marriage
• second wife is Tiffany Loo Tze Lui, a former banker currently working in wealth management

References

14th Parliament MP  : Ang Wei Neng • Baey Yam Keng • Cheryl Chan Wei Ling • Chan Chun Sing • Chee Hong Tat • Cheng Li Hui • Edward Chia Bing Hui • Chong Kee Hiong • Desmond Choo • Chua Kheng Wee Louis • Eric Chua • Darryl David • Christopher de Souza • Foo Mee Har • Grace Fu Hai Yien • Gan Kim Yong • Gan Siow Huang • Gan Thiam Poh • Derrick Goh • He Ting Ru • Heng Chee How • Heng Swee Keat • Shawn Huang Wei Zhong • Indranee Rajah • S Iswaran • Janil Puthucheary • Amy Khor Lean Suan • Koh Poh Koon • Kwek Hian Chuan Henry • Desmond Lee • Lee Hsien Loong • Liang Eng Hwa • Lim Biow Chuan • Jamus Jerome Lim • Sylvia Lim • Lim Wee Kiak • Low Yen Ling • Mariam Jaafar • Masagos Zulkifli Bin Masagos Mohamad • Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman • Mohd Fahmi Bin Aliman • Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap • Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim • Murali Pillai • Nadia Ahmad Samdin • Ng Eng Hen • Ng Ling Ling • Louis Ng Kok Kwang • Rachel Ong • Ong Ye Kung • Joan Pereira • Leon Perera • Denise Phua Lay Peng • Poh Li San • Pritam Singh • Raeesah Khan • Rahayu Mahzam • Saktiandi Supaat • Seah Kian Peng • K Shanmugam • Sharael Taha • Sim Ann • Sitoh Yih Pin • Hany Soh • Sun Xueling • Alvin Tan • Carrie Tan • Tan Chuan-Jin • Dennis Tan Lip Fong • Desmond Tan • Jessica Tan Soon Neo • Tan Kiat How • Tan See Leng • Tan Wu Meng • Patrick Tay Teck Guan • Teo Chee Hean • Josephine Teo • Tharman Shanmugaratnam • Tin Pei Ling • Edwin Tong Chun Fai • Vikram Nair • Vivian Balakrishnan • Wan Rizal • Don Wee • Lawrence Wong • Xie Yao Quan • Alex Yam Ziming • Yeo Wan Ling • Yip Hon Weng • Melvin Yong Yik Chye • Zaqy Mohamad • Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim NCMP  : Leong Mun Wai • Hazel Poa