Lee Yock Suan ( zh, s=李玉全, p=Lǐ Yùquán; born 30 September 1946) is a Singaporean former politician. A member of the governing

People's Action Party The People's Action Party (PAP) is a major Conservatism, conservative political party in Singapore and is the governing contemporary political party represented in the Parliament of Singapore, followed by the opposition Workers' Party of Singap ...

(PAP), he served in the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

between 1987 and 2004, and was a Member of Parliament (MP) between 1980 and 2006. He is the father of Desmond Lee, the current

Minister for Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

Career

Lee worked at Singapore's

Economic Development Board The Economic Development Board (EDB) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the government of Singapore that plans and executes strategies to sustain Singapore as a leading global hub for business and investment. H ...

from 1969 to 1980, initially as a projects officer before becoming Divisional Director (Industry). From 1980 to 1981, he served as Deputy Managing Director of the Petroleum Corporation of Singapore.

Political career

Lee was first elected to Parliament at the 1980 general election. He served as an MP representing the Cheng San Single Member Constituency (1980–88), the Cheng San Group Representation Constituency (1988–2001) and the

East Coast Group Representation Constituency The East Coast Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the eastern area of Singapore. It consists of locations such as East Coast Park, Bedok, Changi (in part), Simei, Siglap, Joo Chia ...

(2001–06). After serving as a

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

at the Ministry of National Development and the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

from 1983 to 1984, Lee was made the Acting Minister for Labour in 1985. He became a full member of the Cabinet in 1987, and served as the Minister for Labour (1987–91),

(1992–97), Second Minister for Finance (1997–98), Minister for Trade and Industry (1997–99), Minister for Information and the Arts (1999–2001), Minister for the Environment (1999–2001), Second Minister for Foreign Affairs (2001–04) and

Minister in the Prime Minister's Office A Minister in the Prime Minister's Office (, ''Sar BeMisrad Rosh HaMemshala'') is a minister and member of the Cabinet of Israel appointed by the Prime Minister of Israel to handle various issues on behalf of the Prime Minister. Current and form ...

(2001–04). Lee also served as the Deputy Chairman of the

People's Association The People's Association (PA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) of the Government of Singapore that oversees neighbourhood communities and social organisations. Established in 1960, it was part of ...

from 1984 to 1991, and as Chairman of the

Singapore Labour Foundation The Singapore Labour Foundation (SLF) was established on 12 December 1977 and is a Statutory boards of the Singapore Government, statutory board under the Ministry of Manpower (Singapore), Ministry of Manpower. Its aims are to improve the welfare ...

from 1997 to 2002. Lee stepped down from the Cabinet in 2004. He remained an MP until 2006, before retiring from politics at the 2006 general election.

Education

Lee was educated at Queenstown Secondary Technical School and

Raffles Institution Raffles Institution (RI) is an independent educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1823, it is the oldest school in the country. It provides secondary education for boys only from Year 1 to Year 4, and pre-university education for both b ...

, before being awarded a

President's Scholar A President's Scholar is a recipient of the academic scholarship awarded by the Government of Singapore annually, to pursue undergraduate education at a university, usually abroad. The scholarship is considered to be the most prestigious public ...

ship to study at

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

, where he completed a

BSc (Hons) A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

. He subsequently completed a Diploma in Business Administration at the

University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University. The university offers degree program ...

Personal life

Lee is a

Hokkien Chinese Hokkien ( , ) is a variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred to as Quanzhang ( zh, c=泉漳, poj=C ...

and is married to Adeline Oh Choon Neo and has one son and one daughter. His son, Desmond Lee, is a politician who is currently a Member of Parliament for

West Coast GRC The West Coast Group Representation Constituency was a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) located in the western and central areas of Singapore. The five divisions consisted of: Ayer Rajah-Gek Poh, West Coast, Boon Lay, Nanyang ...

and Minister for Education.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Yock Suan Alumni of Imperial College London Members of the Cabinet of Singapore Members of the Parliament of Singapore People's Action Party politicians President's Scholars Singaporean people of Hokkien descent 1946 births Living people Ministers for education of Singapore Ministers for labour of Singapore