Tharman Shanmugaratnam

Tharman Motek Shanmugaratnam (Tamil: தர்மன் சண்முகரத்தினம், ) is a politician from Singapore. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he is currently the country's Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Finance and Minister for Manpower. He previously served as the Minister for Education from 2003 to 2008. He has been a Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Jurong Group Representation Constituency since 2001.

Early life

Tharman was born in 1957. He is of Sri Lankan Tamil ancestry. He studied at Anglo-Chinese School, and subsequently obtained a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the London School of Economics. He went on to gain a Master's degree in Economics from Cambridge University, and a Master's degree in Public Administration from Harvard University where he received a Lucius N. Littauer Fellow award for outstanding performance.

Career

Much of Tharman's earlier professional career was spent at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Singapore's central bank and financial regulator, where he was the Director of Economics and eventually the Managing Director. He was awarded the Singapore Public Administration Gold Medal in 1999.

Political career

Upon entering politics in 2001, Tharman was appointed a Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Education. He then served as Minister for Education between 2003 and 2008. In May 2006, he was...
Read More