Singapore, an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia will go to its first contested presidential elections in over a decade next month. Three people, including Indian-origin Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Ng Kok Songn and Tan Kin Lian, have met the criteria to contest the presidential polls. The official nominations, however, will take place on August 22.
Who is Tharman Shanmugaratnam?
Born in Singapore on February 25, 1957, Tharman graduated from the London School of Economics. He later went to Cambridge University for a Master of Philosophy in economics. He also attended Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University for a Master of Public Administration degree.
Tharman’s father Kanagaratnam Shanmugaratnam was also a well-known figure in the city-state and considered Singapore’s “father of pathology”.
The 66-year-old presidential hopeful started his career as a chief economist at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). He then joined Singapore Administrative Service as a Senior Deputy Secretary for Policy in the Ministry of Education but returned to MAS as a managing editor.
He was associated with the People’s Action Party (PAP) for more than two decades and served as deputy premier and senior minister before resigning from his post to contest the presidential election. In his appeal to the voters, Tharman has said that if elected, he will be “impartial” and asked them to consider his track record and not his past affiliations.
Besides Tharman, chairman of Avanda Investment Management, Ng Kok Song is also contesting the September 1 polls to elect the head of the state. The 75-year-old former investment officer has been a long associate of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, but never joined his party PAP.
The third candidate Tan Kin Lian will once again run for the top job after finishing last of the four candidates in the 2011 Singapore presidential elections.