Lui Tuck Yew (; born 16 August 1961) is a Singaporean diplomat, former politician and two-star rear-admiral who has been serving as Singapore Ambassador to China since 2019. He previously served as Singapore Ambassador to Japan between 2017 and 2019. A member of the governing

People's Action Party The People's Action Party ( abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) a ...

(PAP), Lui served as the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Moulmein ward of Tanjong Pagar GRC between 2006 and 2011 and later Moulmein–Kallang GRC between 2011 and 2015). He also served as

Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts The Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI; ms, Kementerian Perhubungan dan Penerangan; zh, 通讯及新闻部; ta, தொடர்பு, தகவல் அமைச்சு) is a ministry of the Government of Singapore respon ...

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

Education

Lui was educated at the Anglo-Chinese School (Primary), Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) and Anglo-Chinese Junior College, before he was awarded a Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship to study at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, where he read the

natural sciences tripos The Natural Sciences Tripos (NST) 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, w ...

in Trinity College and graduated in 1983. He subsequently completed a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) 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. ...

degree in

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the Scientific method, scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities betwe ...

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. The School is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations and is well-ranked in it ...

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learnin ...

in 1994.

Career

Lui began his career in the Republic of Singapore Navy (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 central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

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

Political career

Lui made his political debut in the 2006 general election as part of a six-member PAP team contesting in Tanjong Pagar GRC and won. 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 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 * Filing ...

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 former Singaporean politician. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), Lim has been a Member of Parliament (MP) representing the East Coast Gro ...

. After the 2011 general election, Lui was appointed Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs. He relinquished his portfolio of Minister for Foreign Affairs on 1 August 2012, and remains the 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. 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, poj=N̂g Kun-sêng, p=Huáng Gēnchéng; born 8 September 1946) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore between 2005 and 2011. He has been serving ...

, 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 is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The enti ...

appointed Lui Singapore Ambassador to Japan. Lui was appointed Singapore Ambassador to China in November 2019.

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 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 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