Wong Kan Seng

Wong was appointed Non-Executive and Independent Director on the Board of Directors at the United Overseas Bank (UOB) in 2017 and was subsequently appointed Chairman in 2018. He is also holding the positions of Chairman of the Executive Committee and Member of the Board Risk Management Committee, Nominating Committee and Remuneration and Human Capital Committee at UOB.

Wong retired from the Cabinet following the 2011 general election. He remains a Member of Parliament and also the special adviser for economic cooperation to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong until 11 September 2015, when he was finally retired from politics after 31 years.

Wong was appointed Chairman of Singbridge International, a Temasek Holdings unit dealing with the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City, in 2011.

Wong was criticised because news of Mas Selamat's escape was not disseminated to the public until four hours after its occurrence. There were calls for Wong to step down, given the severity of the security lapse. Mas Selamat was eventually recaptured in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, on 1 April 2009, by Malaysian authorities, over a year after his escape.

On 27 February 2008, alleged Jemaah Islamiyah leader Mas Selamat bin Kastari escaped from Whitley Road Detention Centre, leading to the largest manhunt in Singapore. Wong expressed his regret in Parliament the day after the occurrence.

On 1 September 2005, Wong was appointed Deputy Prime Minister by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, following the retirement of Tony Tan. On 1 November 2010, Wong was appointed Coordinating Minister for National Security and relinquished his Minister for Home Affairs portfolio.

Certain measures were taken to contain the virus, including mandatory home quarantine measures, health screening at immigration checkpoints, schools and hospitals and public education programs. On 31 May 2003, Singapore was taken off the World Health Organization's list of SARS-affected countries.

During the World Conference on Human Rights held in 1993, Wong argued that democracy was interpreted differently in Singapore. He claims that its citizens "do not agree that pornography is an acceptable manifestation of free expression or that homosexual relationships are just a matter of lifestyle choice." Wong also believe that excessive emphasis on individual rights over the rights of the community will retard progress.

During his political career, Wong had served as Minister for Community Development between 1987 and 1991, Leader of the House between 1987 and 2007, Minister for Foreign Affairs between 1988 and 1994, Minister for Home Affairs between 1994 and 2010, Deputy Prime Minister between 2005 and 2011, and Coordinating Minister for National Security between 2010 and 2011. After his resignation from the Cabinet in 2011, Wong continued to serve as a Member of Parliament (MP) on the backbenches until 2015.

Wong was appointed Acting Minister for Community Development in 1986. He was made a full member of the Cabinet as Minister for Community Development by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew in 1987. He was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs in 1988. In 1994, he became Minister for Home Affairs. Wong had also served as Leader of the House between 1991 and 2007.

A former member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kuo Chuan SMC between 1984 and 1988, the Bishan East division of Thomson GRC between 1991 and 1997, and later Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC between 1997 and 2015.

Wong made his political debut in the 1984 general election as a PAP contesting in Kuo Chuan SMC and won. He contested in Thomson GRC during the 1991 general election before switching to Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC in the 1997 general election.

Prior to entering politics, Wong had worked in both the Civil Service and the private sector. He worked in the Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Defence, before joining Hewlett Packard in 1981 as a personnel manager and left in 1985 for politics.

Wong subsequently completed a Master of Science degree in business studies at the London Business School in 1979 under a postgraduate scholarship conferred by the Singapore Government when he was a civil servant.

Wong attended Rangoon Road Primary School, Outram Secondary School and the Adult Education Board (now the Institute of Technical Education) before graduating from the University of Singapore (now the National University of Singapore) in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts with honours degree in history and English.

Wong Kan Seng PPA(P) (Chinese: 黄根成; pinyin: Huáng Gēnchéng; Jyutping: Wong4 Gan1 Sing4; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: N̂g Kun-sêng; 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 as Chairman of the United Overseas Bank since 2018.