Lui Tuck Yew (; born 16 August 1961) is a Singaporean diplomat, former politician and two-star

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

who has been serving as Singapore Ambassador to the United States since 2023. Prior to, Lui served as Singapore Ambassador to China between 2019 and 2023, and Ambassador to Japan between 2017 and 2019. 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), Lui served as the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Moulmein division of

Tanjong Pagar GRC The Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in Central Region, Singapore, Central and West Region, Singapore, Western Singapore. The five divisions consists: Buona Vista, Telok Bl ...

between 2006 and 2011 and later Moulmein–Kallang GRC between 2011 and 2015. He also served in the Cabinet as Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts between 2009 and 2011, Minister for Transport between 2011 and 2015 and Second Minister for Defence in 2015 before retiring from politics. Prior to entering politics, Lui served in the

Republic of Singapore Navy The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) is the Naval warfare, maritime Military branch, service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for defending the country against any seaborne threats and as a guarantor of its sea lines of ...

(RSN) and served as Chief of Navy between 1999 and 2003, holding the rank of two-star

Education

Lui was educated at the

Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) This is a list of primary schools in Singapore. Children typically start their primary education in the year they turn seven. Primary education lasts six years, and is compulsory for all Singapore citizens. Primary schools in Singapore are eithe ...

Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) is a government-aided Methodist all-boys' secondary school located at Barker Road in Newton, Singapore. It is a member of the Anglo-Chinese family of schools in Singapore. It offers the Singapore-Cambridge GCE ...

and

Anglo-Chinese Junior College Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) is a junior college in Singapore that offers a two-year pre-university programme leading to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level examination. Established in 1977, Anglo-Chinese Junior College is the ju ...

, before he was awarded a Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship to study at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, where he read the

natural sciences tripos The Natural Sciences Tripos is the framework within which most of the science at the University of Cambridge is taught. The tripos includes a wide range of Natural Sciences from physics, astronomy, and geoscience, to chemistry and biology, whi ...

at Trinity College and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1983. He subsequently completed a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

at the

Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. Fletcher is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations. As of 2017, the student bo ...

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

in 1994.

Career

Lui began his career in the

(RSN) and became Chief of Navy in 1999. He left the RSN in 2003 to join the Administrative Service, and was appointed the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA). In 2004, he became the Deputy Secretary (Land) at the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

, while continuing to serve concurrently as the chief executive officer of the MPA. In 2005, Lui was appointed the chief executive officer of the

Housing Development Board The Housing & Development Board (HDB; often referred to as the Housing Board; ; ; ), is a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development responsible for the public housing in Singapore. Established in 1960 as a result of effo ...

(HDB).

Political career

Lui made his political debut in the 2006 general election as part of a six-member PAP team contesting in

and won uncontested. He was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tanjong Pagar GRC. During the 2011 general election, Lui switched to contesting in Moulmein–Kallang GRC and won. He was re-elected into Parliament. Lui was appointed Minister of State for Education on 30 May 2006. On 1 April 2008, he became Senior Minister of State for Education and Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts. He was appointed Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts on 1 April 2009, and became a full member of the Cabinet in 2010 and was appointed Second Minister for Transport, assisting

Raymond Lim Raymond Lim Siang Keat ( zh, s=林双吉, p=Lín Shuāngjí, born 24 June 1959) is a Singaporean former politician. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), Lim was a Member of Parliament (MP) representing the East Coast Group Repr ...

. After the 2011 general election, Lui was appointed Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs. He relinquished his portfolio at the Foreign Affairs Ministry on 1 August 2012, but remains serving as Minister for Transport. During his tenure as Minister for Transport, Lui defended the privatisation of the public transport system, explaining that if public transport were to be nationalised, operators would be dependent on government funding as well as operate on a cost recovery basis. This he added, would not spur them to lower transport costs. Lui is adamant that the companies remain financially viable by approving yearly fare hikes.

2011 general election

During the 2011 general election, Lui contested in the newly created Moulmein–Kallang GRC and won 58.56% of the vote, against the

Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...

. On 11 August 2015, Lui announced his retirement from politics after serving for nine years. Together with former Cabinet ministers

Wong Kan Seng Wong Kan Seng ( zh, s=黄根成, j=Wong4 Gan1 Sing4, p=Huáng Gēnchéng; born 8 September 1946) is a Singaporean former politician who served as 5th Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore between 2005 and 2011 and currently is the chairman of Unit ...

, Mah Bow Tan and

, they stepped down from politics after the 2015 general election. Lui acknowledged the criticisms against him as a result of his management during his tenure as Minister for Transport, and said, ''"In politics, you need a tender heart and a thick skin, not a hard heart and thin skin. I think my heart, my skin, like all my body parts, are fine."''

Diplomatic career

On 1 June 2017, the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

appointed Lui Singapore Ambassador to Japan. Lui was appointed Singapore Ambassador to China in November 2019. In May 2023, he was appointed as the Singapore Ambassador to USA.

Personal life

Lui is married to Soo Fen. They have two children.

References

External links

Profile at Cabinet of Singapore websiteProfile at Parliament of Singapore website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lui, Tuck Yew 1961 births Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Anglo-Chinese School alumni Anglo-Chinese Junior College alumni Living people Members of the Cabinet of Singapore Members of the Parliament of Singapore People's Action Party politicians Ambassadors of Singapore to Japan Ambassadors of Singapore to China Ambassadors of Singapore to the United States Singaporean people of Cantonese descent The Fletcher School at Tufts University alumni Chiefs of the Republic of Singapore Navy Ministers for transport of Singapore Communications ministers of Singapore