George Yong-Boon Yeo was born in Singapore on 13 September 1954.

He received his primary education at St Patrick's School and St Stephen's School, and his secondary education at St Patrick's School and St Joseph's Institution. He was the top student in the '0' level examinations in 1970 and a President's Scholar as well as a Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Scholar in 1973.

George Yeo studied Engineering in Cambridge University. As an undergraduate, he was elected President of the Cambridge University Malaysia-Singapore Association. He graduated with a Double First in 1976.

George Yeo then served in the SAF as a Signals Officer. In 1979, he attended the Singapore Command and Staff College, graduating top of his class. He was then transferred to the Air Force, where he later became Head of the Air Plans Department.

In 1983, George Yeo went to Harvard Business School, graduating with an MBA with High Distinction (Baker Scholar).

On his return to Singapore in 1985, George Yeo was appointed Chief- of-Staff of the Air Staff. In 1986, he became Director of Joint Operations and planning in the Ministry of Defence, and was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General in 1988. He resigned from the SAF in August 1988 to enter politics.

On 3 September 1988, George Yeo was elected to Parliament as one of three Members of Parliament (MPs) for the Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC). In the 1991 General Election, he was returned unopposed as one of four MPs in the same GRC.

He was Minister of State for Finance and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs from 13 September 1988 to 27 November 1990.

On 28 November 1990, he was appointed Acting Minister for Information and the Arts, and Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in the Government led by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.

He was promoted to Minister for Information and the Arts, and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs on 1 July 1991 .He was re-appointed to these posts on 7 September 1991.

On 2 January 1994, he relinquished his post as Second Minister for Foreign Affairs and was appointed Minister for Health. He retained his portfolio in Information and the Arts.

On 25 January 1997, following the General Election, he relinquished his post as Minister for Health and was appointed Second Minister for Trade and Industry. He retained his portfolio in Information and the Arts.

On 3 June 1999, George Yeo relinquished his portfolio of Information and the Arts to become Minister for Trade and Industry.

He was re-elected as one of five MPs for Aljunied GRC in the November 2001 General Election and re-appointed Minister for Trade and Industry.

On 12 August 2004, George Yeo relinquished his post as Minister for Trade and Industry and was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Government led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

In the General Elections of May 2006, he was again re-elected as one of the five MPs for Aljunied GRC and re-appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs.

He was the Chairman of the Young PAP from 1991 to 2000.

Since 1992, he has been representing the Eurasian community in the Cabinet.

George Yeo was a member of the Harvard Business School's Visiting Committee from 1998 to 2004.

He has been the Advisor to the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall in Singapore since its establishment in November 2001.

He has been a Patron of LASALLE College of the Arts since 1988.

George Yeo is a Roman Catholic. He married Jennifer Leong Lai Peng, a lawyer, in June 1984. They have a daughter and three sons.

He likes to read, travel, swim and jog. He also plays poor golf.

May 2006

COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Copyright © The Government of Singapore. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical including photocopying and recording, without the permission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. All enquiries seeking any such permission should be addressed to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Raymond Lim is the Minister for Transport and the Second Minister for Foreign Affairs. He is a Member of Parliament for East Coast Group Representation Constituency (GRC). Mr. Lim started work as a law lecturer at the National University of Singapore, before joining the Straits Times as a journalist. He then entered the financial industry where he held various positions. He was the research director for Kim Eng Securities; chief economist for Asia for ABN AMRO Asia Securities; chief executive officer for DBS Securities and managing director for strategic overview of business at Temasek Holdings.  Mr Lim was also an active volunteer in community work. He was an advisor to the Juvenile Court and Board member of the Toa Payoh Girls' Home; Singapore Broadcasting Authority; Public Utilities Board and the Energy Market Authority. Mr Lim was first elected to Parliament in 2001. He was appointed Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Minister of State for Trade & Industry. In 2003, he was given the additional responsibility of being Minister of State in charge of entrepreneurship. In 2005, he was appointed Minister in the Prime Minister's Office; Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs. In 2006, he became Minister for Transport, continuing to serve concurrently as Second Minister for Foreign Affairs. In 2006, he was re-elected to his seat in East Coast GRC. Mr Lim was educated at Raffles Institution and studied economics at the University of Adelaide on a Colombo Plan scholarship. He subsequently won a Rhodes scholarship to read law at Oxford University, where he obtained a bachelor's degree and then at Cambridge where he obtained a master's degree in public international law. Mr Lim was born in 1959 and is married to an architect and has two children. April 2007                                                                                                                              COPYRIGHT NOTICE Copyright © The Government of Singapore.  All rights reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical including photocopying and recording, without the permission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  All enquiries seeking any such permission should be addressed to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. [back to top]

Dr. Balaji Sadasivan was born in 1955. He was educated at Siglap Secondary School, Raffles Institution and the National Junior College. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Singapore in 1979. In 1984, he became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (Glasgow). From 1985 to 1989, he trained in neurosurgery at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, USA and obtained his board certification in neurosurgery. He was appointed fellow in neurosurgery at Harvard University in 1990 and practised neurosurgery from 1991 to 2001. He has more than 50 scientific publications and chapters in neurosurgical books. He has a law degree from the University of London. Dr Balaji was elected Member of Parliament for Ang Mo Kio GRC (Cheng San) in the Nov 2001 General Elections. He was appointed Minister of State in the Ministry of Health (Nov 2001 - Aug 2004), Ministry of the Environment (Nov 2001 - May 2003) and Ministry of Transport (May 2003 - Aug 2004). On 12 Aug 2004, he was promoted to Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts and Ministry of Health. On 30 May 2006, he was appointed Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Dr Balaji was elected to the post of Chairman of the World Health Organization Executive Board at its 121st session in May 2007. He is President of the Singapore Indian Education Trust (SIET), EXCO President of Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA), Chairman of Indian Heritage Centre (IHC) Steering Committee, Chairman of National HIV/AIDs Policy Committee, Member of the Singapore Industrial & Services Employees' Union (SISEU) Council of Advisors, Honorary Advisor to the Singapore Furniture Industries Council (SFIC), Advisor to Peoples' Association Indian Activity Executive Committee Co-ordinating Council, Member of National Steering Committee on Racial & Religious Harmony and Member of National Art Gallery Implementation Steering Committee. He is married to a doctor and has two children. He relaxes by reading. Feb 2009                                                                                                                               COPYRIGHT NOTICE Copyright © The Government of Singapore. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical including photocopying and recording, without the permission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. All enquiries seeking any such permission should be addressed to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. [back to top]

Zainul Abidin was born on 17 March 1948, graduated from the University of Singapore (now the National University of Singapore) with BA (Hons) in Economics and Malay Studies. He is married, with 4 children. Zainul has served various positions in the media, community development programmes/institutions, the trade union movement and Government, including:- Mayor of Northeast Community Development Council, 2001-2009 Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Foreign Affairs), 1998-2001 General Manager (Int), NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Ltd, 1997-1998 Executive Secretary of Singapore Port Workers¡¯ Union, 1997-1998 President of Singapore Islamic Religious Council (MUIS), 1991-1996 Chief Executive Officer of Council for the Development of Singapore Muslim Community (MENDAKI), 1990-1993 Editor of Berita Harian,1976-1983, 1984-1990, 1993-1996 Associate Editor of The Straits Times, 1983-1984 Editor of The Sunday Times, 1981-1983 Other Positions: Member of the International Council of The Asia Society (NY) Member, Lee Kuan Yew Distinguished Visitors Programme Committee Member of Council for Security Co-operation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) Chairman, Malay Heritage Foundation Patron of Singapore Rugby Union Member of National Medical Ethics Committee (1994-2000) Member of Singapore Talent Recruitment (STAR) Committee - (1998-2001) Member of the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Advisory Committee (1990-2001) Member of the National University of Singapore Council (1980-1990) Visits/Conferences: Participated in various International Conferences, including the Williamsburg Conferences on ¡°The Global Security Environment¡± and ¡°The End of Cold War: Implications for the Asia-Pacific Region¡±; Leadership Programme on Japan (Japan); Race and Gender: A Measure of Your Success (Poynter Institute, USA); Visit Programmes to Harvard University and Washington DC (November 1995), and to Stanford University and Washington DC (October 1996). Other assignments include study visits to Egypt and Saudi Arabia to examine the question of peace in the Middle East and the Islamic revival; to Indonesia, to study Pancasila and Islam; to Turkey, to study secularism and Islam; and to Cape Town to look at how the Malay/Muslim community copes with socio-economic changes under apartheid and post-apartheid. Award Outstanding young Singaporean Gold Award by Jaycees (1974) 31 May 2009 COPYRIGHT NOTICE Copyright © The Government of Singapore. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical including photocopying and recording, without the permission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. All enquiries seeking any such permission should be addressed to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. [back to top]