DPM Lawrence Wong To Succeed Tharman Shanmugaratnam As MAS Chairman On 8 July

DPM Lawrence Wong To Take Over As MAS Chairman From Tharman Shanmugaratnam

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced that Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Lawrence Wong will act as the chairman of the MAS board of directors until 31 May 2026.

Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies Tharman Shanmugaratnam has served in the position since May 2011.

He will step down on 8 July, after which DPM Wong will immediately take over on the same day.

DPM Lawrence Wong appointed MAS chairman

In a press release on Monday (3 July), MAS announced the appointment of DPM Wong as chairman of its board of directors.

Mr Wong has acted as the authority’s deputy chairman since 1 June 2021. In addition, he was previously a member of the MAS board from June 2011 to August 2016.

His tenure as chairman of MAS’ board of directors will run from 8 July 2023 to 31 May 2026.

MAS noted that he will be replacing Mr Tharman, who was chairman of MAS for 12 years since May 2011 and will step down on 8 July.

Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong will also be appointed to the board from 8 July 2023 to 31 May 2026. He will be replacing Mr Wong as deputy chairman of the board.

Tharman announces intention to run for president this year

Last month, Mr Tharman revealed that he plans to run for the presidential election, which will be happening later this year.

To do so, he revealed he will retire from all his positions in government. This includes his role as Senior Minister and a member of the People’s Action Party (PAP).

In addition to resigning as chairman of MAS, Mr Tharman has said he will relieve himself of his duties as:

• Deputy chairman of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC)
• Chairman of the Economic Development Board’s International Advisory Council
• Other responsibilities in a ministerial capacity

Mr Tharman also informed Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong of his intention to retire from politics in an official letter.

In a follow-up post on Facebook after the revelation of his desire to run for the presidential election, he shared that it was a difficult decision.

However, he now wants to serve Singapore in a role “above politics”.

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Featured image adapted from Lawrence Wong on Facebook and Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Facebook.