Fourth Lee Hsien Loong Cabinet

Fourth Lee Hsien Loong Cabinet
16th Cabinet of Singapore
2015-2020
Date formed	1 October 2015
Date dissolved	26 July 2020
People and organisations
Head of state	Tony Tan (1 October 2015 – 31 August 2017) Halimah Yacob (since 14 September 2017)
Head of government	Lee Hsien Loong
Deputy head of government	Teo Chee Hean & Tharman Shanmugaratnam (1 October 2015 – 30 April 2019) Heng Swee Keat (since 1 May 2019)
Member party	People's Action Party
Status in legislature	Supermajority 83 / 100
Opposition party	Workers' Party
Opposition leader	Low Thia Khiang (1 October 2015 – 7 April 2018) Pritam Singh (since 8 April 2018)
History
Election	11 September 2015
Legislature term	13th
Predecessor	Third Lee Hsien Loong Cabinet
Successor	Fifth Lee Hsien Loong Cabinet

The Fourth Cabinet of Lee Hsien Loong of the Government of Singapore was announced on 28 September 2015 ^[1] following the 2015 general election on 11 September, and came into effect on 1 October 2015. The day after the election, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told the media that he would form the Cabinet within two weeks. ^{[2] [3]}

Changes

Position	Incoming	Outgoing
Minister for Education	Ong Ye Kung
Minister for Education	Ng Chee Meng
Minister for Transport		Lui Tuck Yew
Minister in the Prime Minister's Office		Ng Chee Meng

Initial composition

Cabinet

Prior to the general election held on 11 September 2015, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew announced his retirement on 11 August. All other incumbent office holders successfully defended their parliamentary seats in the elections. ^[4]

The list of Cabinet ministers and other office-holders was announced on 28 September 2015. In a press conference, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, "I have given heavy responsibilities to the next generation of Ministers. They will be stretched and tested. They have to prove themselves and must gel together as a team. Soon after the end of this term, we must have a new team ready to take over from me." ^[3]

Three veteran ministers were named Coordinating Ministers, each of them overseeing a handful of ministries.

• National Security – Teo Chee Hean.
• Economic and Social Policies – Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
• Infrastructure – Khaw Boon Wan.

Minister	Prior to 2015	Appointment
Lui Tuck Yew	Minister for Transport	Retired from politics.
Khaw Boon Wan	Minister for National Development	Moved to Minister for Transport.
Lawrence Wong	Minister for Culture, Community and Youth	Moved to Minister for National Development.
Grace Fu	Minister in Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for Environment and Water Resources, Second Minister for Foreign Affairs	Moved to Minister for Culture, Community and Youth.
Amy Khor	Senior Minister of State for Health and Manpower	Relinquished Senior Minister of State for Manpower and moved to Senior Minister of State for Environment and Water Resources.
Teo Ser Luck	Minister of State for Trade and Industry	Relinquished Minister of State for Trade and Industry, and moved to Minister of State for Manpower.

Several other ministers will have a change in duties:

• Vivian Balakrishnan  – from Environment and Water Resources to Foreign Affairs.
• K. Shanmugam  – from Foreign Affairs to Home Affairs, while retaining Law.
• Heng Swee Keat  – from Education to Finance.
• Lawrence Wong  – from Culture, Community and Youth to National Development.
• Masagos Zulkifli  – from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to Environment and Water Resources.
• Grace Fu  – from the PMO to Culture, Community and Youth.

The Ministry of Education and Ministry of Trade and Industry will each have two full ministers, covering separate aspects. ^[3]

Composition of the Cabinet

Portfolio	Minister	Portrait	Date
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong 李显龙		12 August 2004
Minister for Finance	Heng Swee Keat 王瑞杰		1 October 2015
Deputy Prime Minister			1 May 2019 [5]
Co-ordinating Minister for National Security	Teo Chee Hean 张志贤		1 October 2015
Senior Minister			1 May 2019
Co-ordinating Minister for Social Policies	Tharman Shanmugaratnam தர்மன் சண்முகரத்தினம்		1 October 2015
Senior Minister			1 May 2019
Co-ordinating Minister for Infrastructure Minister for Transport	Khaw Boon Wan 许文远		1 October 2015
Minister in the Prime Minister's Office	Ng Chee Meng 黄志明		1 May 2018
Minister for Communications and Information Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations	S. Iswaran எஸ். ஈஸ்வரன்		1 May 2018
Minister for Culture, Community and Youth	Grace Fu Hai Yien 傅海燕		1 October 2015
Minister for Defence	Ng Eng Hen 黄永宏		1 October 2015
Minister for Education	Ong Ye Kung 王乙康		1 May 2018
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs	Masagos Zulkifli ماسڬوس ذوالكفل		1 October 2015 1 May 2018
Minister for Foreign Affairs	Vivian Balakrishnan விவியன் பாலகிருஷ்ணன்		1 October 2015
Minister for Manpower	Josephine Teo 杨莉明		1 May 2018
Second Minister for Home Affairs			11 September 2017
Minister for Health	Gan Kim Yong 颜金勇		1 October 2015
Minister for Home Affairs Minister for Law	K. Shanmugam காசிவிஸ்வநாதன் சண்முகம்		1 October 2015
Minister for Social and Family Development	Desmond Lee 李智陞		11 September 2017
Second Minister for National Development			1 May 2017
Minister in the Prime Minister's Office	Indranee Thurai Rajah இந்திராணி ராஜா		1 May 2018
Second Minister for Education			1 May 2018
Second Minister for Finance			1 May 2018
Second Minister for Law			1 May 2018 – 30 June 2018
Minister for National Development	Lawrence Wong 黄循财		1 October 2015
Second Minister for Finance			22 August 2016
Minister for Trade and Industry	Chan Chun Sing 陈振声		1 May 2018

The names in bold are the surnames of Chinese persons, and the personal names of Indian and Malay persons (except for Vivian Balakrishnan and Tharman Shanmugaratnam, where they indicate surnames as well).

Sources: Transcript of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's Statement at the Press Conference on the new Cabinet Line-Up on 28 September 2015, Prime Minister's Office, 29 September 2015, archived from the original on 29 September 2015; Rachel Chang (29 September 2015), "PM names Cabinet aimed at leadership succession: Coordinating ministers will help tackle complex matters, mentor younger ministers", The Straits Times , p. A1; Laura Elizabeth Philomin (29 September 2015), "Five new faces to become office-holders", Today , archived from the original on 29 September 2015.

Ministers of State and Parliamentary Secretaries

Desmond Lee, Mohamad Maliki Osman and Sim Ann were promoted from Ministers of State to Senior Ministers of State.

Reshuffles

Between 1 October 2015 and 1 January 2016

As of 1 October 2015 and 1 January 2016

Ministry	Ministers
Prime Minister's Office	Lee Hsien Loong (Prime Minister) Teo Chee Hean (Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security) Tharman Shanmugaratnam (Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies) Khaw Boon Wan (Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure) Chan Chun Sing (Minister)
Defence	Ng Eng Hen
Foreign Affairs	Vivian Balakrishnan
Home Affairs	K. Shanmugam
Trade and Industry	Lim Hng Kiang (Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade)) S. Iswaran (Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry))
Finance	Heng Swee Keat
Manpower	Lim Swee Say
Transport	Khaw Boon Wan
National Development	Lawrence Wong
Communications and Information	Yaacob Ibrahim
Environment and Water Resources	Masagos Zulkifli
Law	K. Shanmugam
Health	Gan Kim Yong
Education	Ng Chee Meng (Minister for Education (Schools) [6] ) Ong Ye Kung (Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) [6] )
Social and Family Development	Tan Chuan-Jin
Culture, Community and Youth	Grace Fu

Between 1 May and 11 September 2017

As of 1 May and 11 September 2017

Ministry	Ministers
Prime Minister's Office	Lee Hsien Loong (Prime Minister) Teo Chee Hean (Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security) Tharman Shanmugaratnam (Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies) Khaw Boon Wan (Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure) Chan Chun Sing (Minister) Josephine Teo (Minister)
Defence	Ng Eng Hen Ong Ye Kung (Second Minister)
Foreign Affairs	Vivian Balakrishnan
Home Affairs	K. Shanmugam Josephine Teo (Second Minister)
Trade and Industry	Lim Hng Kiang (Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade)) S. Iswaran (Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry))
Finance	Heng Swee Keat Lawrence Wong (Second Minister)
Manpower	Lim Swee Say Josephine Teo (Second Minister)
Transport	Khaw Boon Wan Ng Chee Meng (Second Minister)
National Development	Lawrence Wong Desmond Lee (Second Minister)
Communications and Information	Yaacob Ibrahim
Environment and Water Resources	Masagos Zulkifli
Law	K. Shanmugam
Health	Gan Kim Yong
Education	Ng Chee Meng (Minister for Education (Schools)) Ong Ye Kung (Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills))
Social and Family Development	Desmond Lee
Culture, Community and Youth	Grace Fu

Between 1 May 2018 and 30 April 2019

Minister	Prior to 2018	Appointment
Lim Hng Kiang	Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade)	Stepping down from cabinet and returned to backbenches until COVID-19 pandemic.
Lim Swee Say	Minister for Manpower	Stepping down from cabinet and returned to backbenches until COVID-19 pandemic.
Josephine Teo	Minister in Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for Home Affairs and Second Minister for Manpower	Moved to Minister for Manpower.
Yaacob Ibrahim	Minister for Communications and Information	Stepping down from cabinet and returned to backbenches until COVID-19 pandemic.
S Iswaran	Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry)	Moved to Minister for Communications and Information.
Chan Chun Sing	Minister in Prime Minister's Office	Moved to Minister for Trade and Industry.
Ng Chee Meng	Minister for Education (Schools)	Moved to Minister in Prime Minister's Office.

As of 1 May 2018 ^[7]

Ministry	Ministers
Prime Minister's Office	Lee Hsien Loong (Prime Minister) Teo Chee Hean (Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security) Tharman Shanmugaratnam (Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies) Khaw Boon Wan (Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure) Ng Chee Meng (Minister) Indranee Rajah (Minister)
Defence	Ng Eng Hen
Foreign Affairs	Vivian Balakrishnan
Home Affairs	K. Shanmugam Josephine Teo (Second Minister)
Trade and Industry	Chan Chun Sing
Finance	Heng Swee Keat Lawrence Wong (Second Minister) Indranee Rajah (Second Minister)
Manpower	Josephine Teo
Transport	Khaw Boon Wan
National Development	Lawrence Wong Desmond Lee (Second Minister)
Communications and Information	S. Iswaran
Environment and Water Resources	Masagos Zulkifli
Law	K. Shanmugam Indranee Rajah (Second Minister; until 30 June 2018)
Health	Gan Kim Yong
Education	Ong Ye Kung Indranee Rajah (Second Minister)
Social and Family Development	Desmond Lee
Culture, Community and Youth	Grace Fu

Between 1 May 2019 and 26 July 2020

As of 1 May 2019 ^[8]

Ministry	Ministers
Prime Minister's Office	Lee Hsien Loong (Prime Minister) Heng Swee Keat (Deputy Prime Minister) Teo Chee Hean (Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security) Tharman Shanmugaratnam (Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies) Khaw Boon Wan (Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure) Ng Chee Meng (Minister) Indranee Rajah (Minister)
Defence	Ng Eng Hen
Foreign Affairs	Vivian Balakrishnan
Home Affairs	K. Shanmugam Josephine Teo (Second Minister)
Trade and Industry	Chan Chun Sing
Finance	Heng Swee Keat Lawrence Wong (Second Minister) Indranee Rajah (Second Minister)
Manpower	Josephine Teo
Transport	Khaw Boon Wan
National Development	Lawrence Wong Desmond Lee (Second Minister)
Communications and Information	S. Iswaran
Environment and Water Resources	Masagos Zulkifli
Law	K. Shanmugam
Health	Gan Kim Yong
Education	Ong Ye Kung Indranee Rajah (Second Minister)
Social and Family Development	Desmond Lee
Culture, Community and Youth	Grace Fu

Summary

Name	1 October 2015	1 January 2016	22 August 2016	1 November 2016	1 May 2017	11 September 2017	1 May 2018	1 July 2018	1 May 2019
Cabinet Ministers
Lee Hsien Loong	Prime Minister
Teo Chee Hean	Deputy Prime Minister								Senior Minister
	Coordinating Minister, National Security
Tharman Shanmugaratnam	Deputy Prime Minister								Senior Minister
	Coordinating Minister, Economic & Social Policies								Coordinating Minister, Social Policies
Heng Swee Keat	-								Deputy Prime Minister
	Minister for Finance
Khaw Boon Wan	Coordinating Minister, Infrastructure Minister for Transport
Ng Eng Hen	Minister for Defence
Vivian Balakrishnan	Minister for Foreign Affairs
K. Shanmugam	Minister for Home Affairs Minister for Law
Gan Kim Yong	Minister for Health
S. Iswaran	Minister for Trade & Industry (Industry)						Minister for Communications & Information
Grace Fu	Minister for Culture, Community and Youth
Chan Chun Sing	Minister in the PMO						Minister for Trade & Industry
Lawrence Wong	Minister for National Development		Minister for National Development Second Minister for Finance
Masagos Zulkifli	Minister for Environment and Water Resources
Ng Chee Meng	Acting Minister for Education (Schools)			Minister for Education (Schools) 2M, Transport			Minister in the PMO
Ong Ye Kung	Acting Minister for Education (Higher Education & Skills)			Minister for Education (Higher Education & Skills) Second Minister for Defence			Minister for Education
Josephine Teo	-				Minister in the PMO Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Second Minister for Manpower	Minister in the PMO Second Minister for Home Affairs Second Minister for Manpower	Minister for Manpower Second Minister for Home Affairs
Desmond Lee	-				Minister in the PMO Second Minister for Home Affairs Second Minister for National Development	Minister for Social & Family Development Second Minister for National Development
Indranee Rajah	-						Min, PMO Second Minister for Law Second Minister for Finance Second Minister for Education	Minister in the PMO Second Minister for Finance Second Minister for Education
Lim Hng Kiang	Minister for Trade & Industry (Trade)						-
Lim Swee Say	Minister for Manpower						-
Yaacob Ibrahim	Minister for Communications and Information						-
Tan Chuan-Jin	Minister for Social and Family Development					-

References

1. Joy Fang (28 September 2015). "PM Lee Hsien Loong reveals new Cabinet line-up". Today . Archived from the original on 29 September 2015.
2. "PM Lee Hsien Loong says he will form new Cabinet over the next two weeks". The Straits Times . 12 September 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
3. "Transcript of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's Statement at the Press Conference on the new Cabinet Line-Up on 28 September 2015". Prime Minister's Office. 29 September 2015. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015.
4. "Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew will not contest coming General Election". Channel NewsAsia . 11 August 2015. Archived from the original on 13 August 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.; "Meet PM Lee's New Cabinet". The Straits Times. 28 September 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
5. "Heng Swee Keat to be promoted to DPM in Cabinet reshuffle". Channel NewsAsia . 23 April 2019. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
6. "Ong Ye Kung and Ng Chee Meng promoted to full Ministers of education". AsiaOne. Asiaone. Archived from the original on 21 March 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
7. Singapore, Prime Minister's Office (24 December 2018). "PMO | Changes to Cabinet and Other Appointments (Apr 2018)". Prime Minister's Office Singapore.
8. "PMO | Changes to Cabinet and Other Appointments (Apr 2019)". Prime Minister's Office Singapore. 23 April 2019.