President Ong Teng Cheong

1. Ong Teng Cheong

2. Personal particulars & Background Ong Teng Cheong 22 January 1936 - 8 February 2002) was the first directly elected President of the Republic of Singapore. He was the nation's fifth President, and served a six-year term from 1 September 1993 to 31 August 1999. Born in 1936, Ong was the second of five children from a middle class Chinese Singaporean family. His English-educated father felt that the Chinese language is important if one wants to be successful in business at that time, and he sent all his children to Chinese schools. Ong graduated with distinctions from The Chinese High School in 1955.

3. In 1956, with the help of his father's friends, he went abroad. He studied architecture at the University of Adelaide in Australia with his childhood friend, Ling Siew May. They met each other during a Christmas party while they were still studying in secondary school. After graduation, Mr Ong worked as an architect in Adelaide and married Ling in 1963. In 1965, Mr Ong received an Colombo Plan scholarship to pursue a master's degree in urban planning at the University of Liverpool and graduated in 1967. In the same year, he joined the Ministry of National Development as a town planner. After four years of civil service, he resigned and started his own architectural firm with his wife.

4. Career Mr Ong's political career lasted 21 years. He was a Member of Parliament, Cabinet Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, before he resigned to become the first elected President of Singapore in 1993. He began his political career through his involvement in grassroots activities in Seletar. He was then introduced to the Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew. The People's Action Party(PAP) soon fielded him as a candidate in Kim Keat in the 1972 General Election. His first political appointment came just three years later when he was made Senior Minister of State for Communications. At that time, Ong pushed for the development of the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRT), the largest construction project in Singapore's history. He later became the 2nd Deputy Prime Minister in 1985. In 1983, Ong replaced Lim Chee Onn as secretary general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC).

5. 1985 - Appointed as Second Deputy Prime Minister in January (until Nov 1990) 1990 - Appointed as Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) in November (until Aug 1993) 1993 - Resigned as DPM, MP and PAP Chairman to contest in Presidential Election in August 1993 - Became Singapore's first Elected President on 1 September (until 31 Aug 1999) 1994 - Conferred the labour movement's highest award: The Distinguished Comrade of Labour on 1 May. 1998 - Conferred one of Britain's highest honours: The Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George, by Queen Elizabeth II, in July. 1998 - Received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Liverpool.

6. Contributions As the Minister for Culture in the late 1970s he was determined to transform Singapore from a perceived cultural desert to a city of the arts, which led to the first Singapore Festival of the Arts. An accomplished musician himself, Mr Ong also lent a hand to various welfare causes. In 1993, he launched the President's Star Charity, an event that has raised millions of dollars for local charities annually.

7. In 1994, Mr Ong, as President, had disagreed with the Government's interpretation of the Constitution, regarding the powers of the Presidential Office. Mr Ong referred the issue to a special High Court tribunal, which was in charged by the Chief Justice. When the final decision was ruled in favour of the government, Mr Ong accepted the fact. On 16 July 1999, at a press conference to indicate that he would not be contesting a second term, President Ong mentioned some problems he had faced during his term as President. His points drew a swift response from the government but it was clear that President had been accountable to Singaporeans while performing his duties as President. President Ong had tested several issues during his 6-year term, and it was noteworthy that he had pushed for the publication of the 'White Paper on the Determination and Safeguarding of the Protection of the reserves of the government'.

8. Source www.wikipedia.org http://www.ongtengcheong.com/mr_otc.htm www.google.com http://www.channelnewsasia.com/cna/obituaries/ongtengcheong