New MAS Chairman and Deputy Chairman

Singapore, 20 Aug 2004...Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has been officially appointed as Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) with effect from today, for a period of two years.  Mr Goh is MAS' fifth chairman since the establishment of MAS in 1971.  He replaces Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (then Deputy Prime Minister) who had served as MAS Chairman since January 1998.

2   Concurrently, Education Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam has been appointed as Deputy Chairman.  He takes over from Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang, who had held the Deputy Chairman position since January 2001.  Mr Shanmugaratnam spent much of his earlier career at the MAS, eventually as Managing Director, before he entered politics in October 2001.  He has been a member of the MAS Board of Directors since 2001.

3   MAS also announced the appointment of Mr Heng Swee Keat, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Trade and Industry, to its Board of Directors.  Mr Heng's appointment will be for a term of two years, with effect from today.

4   Mr Heng holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Cambridge University and a Master's degree in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.  Mr Heng's previous positions included:  Assistant Commissioner of Police (1996), Principal Private Secretary to the Senior Minister (1997-2001) and Chief Executive Officer of the Trade Development Board (2000-2001).  He has been Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Trade and Industry since 23 October 2001. 

5   The members of the MAS Board of Directors are as shown at Appendix 1 (6.84 KB) .(Please click to view)