Today in History Mr Ong Teng Cheong, a civil servant and a trained architect, was sworn in on 1 September 1993 and made Singapores first elected President. He stepped down as the President of Singapore on 31 August 1999. After completing his Master of Civic Design degree at the University of Liverpool, Mr Ong Teng Cheong joined the Planning Department of the Ministry of National Development in 1967 as an architect planner. He entered politics in 1972, where he was elected as Member of Parliameny for the Kim Keat constituency, a position he held for 21 years. He went on to hold portfolios in communications, culture and labour, and was appointed chairman of the PAP (1981), secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) (1983), second deputy prime minister in Lee Kuan Yew’s Cabinet (1985) and deputy prime minister in Goh Chok Tong’s cabinet (1990). A man of great vision, Mr Ong Teng Cheong lobbied for the construction of a rail-based mass transport system (later known as SMRT), Changi Airport and the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. Mr Ong Teng Cheong departed at the age of 66 on 8 February 2002.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 10:00:00 +0000
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