Grace Fu Explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Honourable
Grace Fu
Office:Minister for Sustainability and the Environment
Primeminister:Lee Hsien Loong
Lawrence Wong
Term Start:27 July 2020
Predecessor:Masagos Zulkifli
(as Minister for the Environment and Water Resources)
Office1:Minister for Culture, Community and Youth
Term Start1:1 October 2015
Term End1:26 July 2020
Primeminister1:Lee Hsien Loong
Predecessor1:Lawrence Wong
Successor1:Edwin Tong
Office2:Leader of the House
Term Start2:1 October 2015
Term End2:23 August 2020
Primeminister2:Lee Hsien Loong
Deputy2:Desmond Lee
Predecessor2:Ng Eng Hen
Successor2:Indranee Rajah
Office3:Minister in the Prime Minister's Office
Term Start3:1 August 2012
Term End3:30 September 2015
Predecessor3:Lim Hwee Hua
Primeminister3:Lee Hsien Loong
Office4:Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources
Term Start4:1 August 2012
Term End4:30 September 2015
Primeminister4:Lee Hsien Loong
Minister4:Vivian Balakrishnan
Office5:Second Minister for Foreign Affairs
Term Start5:1 August 2012
Term End5:30 September 2015
Primeminister5:Lee Hsien Loong
Minister5:K. Shanmugam
Predecessor5:Lui Tuck Yew
Successor5:Josephine Teo (2017)
Office6:Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts
Term Start6:21 May 2011
Term End6:30 July 2012
Minister6:Yaacob Ibrahim
Office7:Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources
Term Start7:21 May 2011
Term End7:30 July 2012
Minister7:Vivian Balakrishnan
Successor7:Amy Khor
Office8:Senior Minister of State for Education
Term Start8:1 April 2008
Term End8:20 May 2011
Minister8:Ng Eng Hen
Successor8:Lawrence Wong
Office9:Senior Minister of State for National Development
Term Start9:1 April 2008
Term End9:20 May 2011
Minister9:Mah Bow Tan
Successor9:Desmond Lee
Constituency Mp10:Yuhua SMC
Term Start10:21 May 2011
Predecessor10:Constituency established
Majority10:8,217 (41.08%)
Constituency Mp11:Jurong GRC
(Yuhua)
Term Start11:27 April 2006
Term End11:18 April 2011
Predecessor11:Yu-Foo Yee Shoon
Successor11:Constituency abolished
Birth Date:1964 3, df=y[1]
Birth Place:State of Singapore
Party:People's Action Party
Alma Mater:National University of Singapore (BAcy, MBA)
Spouse:Ivan Lee
Children:3

Grace Fu Hai Yien [2] (Chinese: s=傅海燕|p=Fù Hǎiyàn; born 29 March 1964) is a Singaporean accountant and politician who has been serving as Minister for Sustainability and the Environment since 2020, and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations since 2024. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing Yuhua SMC since 2011.

An accountant by profession, Fu had worked at Overseas Union Bank, Haw Par Group and PSA Corporation before entering politics. She made her political debut in the 2006 general election as part of the five-member PAP team contesting in Jurong GRC and won. She has contested in Yuhua SMC since the 2011 general election.

Before her appointment as the Minister of Sustainability and the Environment, Fu served as Senior Minister of State for National Development and Senior Minister of State for Education between 2008 and 2011, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources and Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts between 2011 and 2012, Second Minister for Foreign Affairs between 2012 and 2015, Leader of the House and Minister for Culture, Community and Youth between 2015 and 2020.

Early life and education

Fu was born on 29 March 1964 in Singapore. She was educated at Nanyang Girls' High School and Hwa Chong Junior College before graduating from the National University of Singapore in 1985 with a Bachelor of Accountancy with honours degree in 1985. She subsequently completed a Master of Business Administration degree at the NUS Business School in 1991.

Career

Fu started her career at the Overseas Union Bank as an auditor from 1985 to 1988. She then joined the Haw Par Group, where she worked in corporate planning, financial control and business development from 1991 to 1995.

In October 1995, Fu joined PSA Corporation as Assistant Director (Finance). She took on additional responsibility as Vice-President (Marketing), and assumed the position of Financial Controller in October 1998. She was promoted to Executive Vice-President (Finance) in January 1999. In April 2003, Fu was appointed CEO of Singapore Terminals. In 2004, she became CEO of PSA South East Asia and Japan, where she was responsible for the business performance of PSA's flagship terminals in Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, and Japan.[3]

Fu has been a non-practising member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore since 1992.[4]

Political career

Fu made her political debut in the 2006 general election as part of the five-member PAP team contesting in Jurong GRC and won. Fu was subsequently elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Yuhua division of Jurong GRC in June 2006. She was one of 24 new PAP candidates introduced ahead of the general election.

On 1 August 2006, Fu was appointed Minister of State for National Development.

On 1 April 2008, Fu was promoted to Senior Minister of State for National Development, and appointed Senior Minister of State for Education concurrently.

At the 2011 general election, Fu contested in the newly created Yuhua SMC and won with 66.9% of the vote. Following the election, Fu was appointed Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts, and Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources concurrently.

In January 2012, Fu expressed concerns over the planned 36–37% income cuts for ministers, saying that if ministerial pay was further reduced in the future, it would "make it harder for anyone considering political office".[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Her comments contributed to the ongoing public debate over compensation and motivation of public officials, and were subject to criticism from netizens in Singapore. Others defended her remark as fair, supporting her position that loss of privacy and public scrutiny adds a large personal cost to public positions not found in the private sector.[10] [11]

On 31 July 2012, Fu was made full minister, becoming the second woman in Singapore's history, after Lim Hwee Hua, to become a full minister in the Cabinet. She served as Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2015.[12]

In 2014, as the Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Fu was in charge of the Municipal Services Office.[13]

In 2015, Fu was appointed Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, becoming the first female minister in Singapore to head a ministry.

Following the 2020 general election, Fu became Organising Secretary of the PAP's Central Executive Committee (CEC), and an advisor of Yuhua SMC Grassroots Organisations.

Fu served as Leader of the House from 2015 to 2020, before being appointed Minister for Sustainability and the Environment in 2020.

She has also been a member of the Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance, co-chaired by Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, and Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley, since 2020.

On 14 January 2024, following the resignation of S. Iswaran as Minister for Transport and Minister In-Charge of Trade Relations, a Cabinet Reshuffle was conducted and Chee Hong Tat was promoted to Minister for Transport while Fu took over the portfolio of Minister In-charge of Trade Relations from Iswaran.[14] In addition, she was also elected as the President of the Singapore National Olympic Council on 5 January, following the resignation of Tan Chuan Jin due to his extramarital affair with fellow Member of Parliament Cheng Li Hui[15]

Personal life

Fu's father, James Fu, was a former leftist journalist who became press secretary to Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.[16] [17] Her mother was a nurse.[18]

Fu is married to technopreneur Ivan Lee and they have three sons.[19] [20]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: PARL MP . 17 July 2020 . 24 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210424192105/https://www.parliament.gov.sg/mps/list-of-current-mps/mp/details/grace-fu-hai-yien . live .
  2. Web site: 2011 Honorary Awards . 1 October 2021 . 25 July 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190725231223/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/509625/2014_Honorary_Awards_-_Final_-_a.pdf . live .
  3. Web site: 7 September 2020 . PMO | Ms Grace FU Hai Yien . 1 October 2021 . 19 September 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210919182034/https://www.pmo.gov.sg/cabinet/ms-grace-fu-hai-yien . live .
  4. Web site: MP Profile – Grace Fu . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120109030341/http://ge.pap.org.sg/candidate/gracefu . 9 January 2012 . 13 March 2012.
  5. News: Hoe . Yeen Nie . Grace Fu criticised over Facebook comments on pay review . . live . 6 January 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120108055502/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1175018/1/.html . 8 January 2012.
  6. News: Chan . Rachel . 6 January 2012 . Furore over minister's pay-cut post . AsiaOne . dead . 6 January 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120109010601/http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120106-320189.html . 9 January 2012.
  7. News: Wong . Alicia . 6 January 2012 . Grace Fu clarifies Facebook post on ministerial pay . TodayOnline . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120108181551/http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120106-0000047/Grace-Fu-clarifies-Facebook-post-on-ministerial-pay . 8 January 2012 . dmy-all.
  8. News: Seah . Chiang Nee . 7 January 2012 . PAP mood turns sour over pay cuts . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120108082443/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2012%2F1%2F7%2Ffocus%2F10213453&sec=focus . 8 January 2012 . dmy-all.
  9. News: Shamim . Adam . Lim, Weiyi . 5 January 2012 . Singapore's Lee Fights Voter Grievances by Accepting Pay Cut . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120108144615/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-05/singapore-s-lee-fights-voter-grievances-by-accepting-pay-cut.html . 8 January 2012 . dmy-all.
  10. News: Mokhtar . Faris . 6 January 2012 . Public misunderstood my comments: Grace Fu . Yahoo! News SG . live . 7 January 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120109080702/http://sg.news.yahoo.com/minister%E2%80%99s-comments-on-pay-cuts-spark-public-debate.html . 9 January 2012.
  11. News: Kong . Loh Chee . 5 January 2011 . Deep cuts proposed to pay of political leaders . TodayOnline . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120109000033/http://www.todayonline.com/Hotnews/EDC120105-0000020/Deep-cuts-proposed-to-pay-of-political-leaders . 9 January 2012 . dmy-all.
  12. News: Singapore reshuffles Cabinet . Channel NewsAsia . live . 31 July 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130318053849/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1216875/1/.html . 18 March 2013.
  13. Web site: Migration . 2014-08-17 . National Day Rally 2014: New Municipal Services Office to serve residents seamlessly The Straits Times . 2023-05-03 . www.straitstimes.com . en . 22 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230422170604/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/national-day-rally-2014-new-municipal-services-office-to-serve-residents-seamlessly-0 . live .
  14. Web site: PMO | Changes to Cabinet and Other Appointments (Jan 2024) . 18 January 2024 .
  15. Web site: Grace Fu elected as Singapore National Olympic Council president .
  16. Book: George, Cherian . Freedom from the Press: Journalism and State Power in Singapore . 2012-04-01 . NUS Press . 9789971695941 . 103 . 27 July 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200920180120/https://books.google.com/books?id=aA-LBgAAQBAJ&lpg=PA103&dq=%22james+fu&pg=PA103&hl=en#v=onepage&q=%22james%20fu&f=false . 20 September 2020 . live.
  17. News: Toh . Elgin . 2015-03-24 . First among equals: Mr Lee Kuan Yew led a tiny island nation from Third World to First . The Straits Times . live . 27 July 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170811051513/http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/first-among-equals-mr-lee-kuan-yew-led-a-tiny-island-nation-from-third-world-to-first . 11 August 2017.
  18. News: Chang . Rachel . 2012-08-12 . Grace Fu: Steely leader sticks to her convictions . The Straits Times.
  19. News: Heng . Janice . 2015-03-08 . When a woman outshines her man . The Straits Times . live . 27 July 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170905195319/http://www.asiaone.com/singapore/when-woman-outshines-her-man . 5 September 2017.
  20. http://www.pap.org.sg/articleview.php?id=1020&cid=34 A Chat with Grace Fu