The Honourable
Gan Siow Huang
PPA(P)
颜晓芳
Gan in 2016
Minister of State for Education
Assumed office
27 July 2020
Serving with Sun Xueling (2020–2022)
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
MinisterLawrence Wong
(2020–2021)
Chan Chun Sing
(2021–present)
Preceded byChee Hong Tat
Minister of State for Manpower
Assumed office
27 July 2020
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
MinisterJosephine Teo
(2018–2021)
Tan See Leng
(2021–present)
Preceded byZaqy Mohamad
Member of Parliament
for Marymount SMC
Assumed office
10 July 2020
Preceded byConstituency established
Majority2,225 (10.08%)
Personal details
Born1974 (age 49–50)[1]
Singapore
Political partyPeople's Action Party
SpouseLee Jek Suen
Children3
EducationLondon School of Economics (BS)
New Zealand Defence College
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MBA)
OccupationPolitician
Military service
Branch/serviceRepublic of Singapore Air Force
Years of service1993–2020
RankBrigadier-General
CommandsChief of Staff – Air Staff
Commander, Air Power Generation Command
Head, Joint Manpower Department
Commander, Air Surveillance and Control Group
Commanding Officer, 203 Squadron

Gan Siow Huang PPA(P) (Chinese: 颜晓芳; pinyin: Yán Xiǎofāng; born 1974)[1] is a Singaporean politician and former brigadier-general who has been serving as Minister of State for Education and Minister of State for Manpower concurrently since 2020. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing Marymount SMC since 2020.

Before entering politics, Gan served in the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) and attained the rank Brigadier-General, becoming the first woman to hold a general rank in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). She served as Chief of Staff – Air Staff between 2019 and 2020.

Gan made her political debut in the 2020 general election when she contested as a PAP candidate in Marymount SMC and won with 55.04% of the vote against Progress Singapore Party's Ang Yong Guan. After being elected, she was appointed Minister of State for Education and Manpower.

Education

Gan was educated at Victoria Junior College[2] before she was awarded the Singapore Armed Forces Merit Scholarship (Women) in 1993 to study at the London School of Economics, from which she graduated in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics. She had also attended the command and staff course at the New Zealand Defence College in 2003.[3]

Gan subsequently went on to complete a Master of Business Administration degree in 2010 under the Sloan Fellows programme at the MIT Sloan School of Management.[4][5]

Military career

Gan started her career as a weapon systems officer in the Republic of Singapore Air Force. Throughout her military career, she held various command and staff appointments in the Air Force, including Commanding Officer of the 203 Squadron, Commander of Air Surveillance and Control Group, and Head of the Joint Manpower Department in the Ministry of Defence.[6] She also received the Public Administration Medal (Silver) (Military) in 2013.[7]

On 1 July 2015, Gan was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General, becoming the first woman to hold a general rank and the highest ranking female officer in the Singapore Armed Forces.[8][9] In a speech at a Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women forum held on 3 October 2015, Low Yen Ling cited Gan as "one notable example who smashed the 'brass ceiling' to become the first female general in the Singapore Armed Forces".[10]

Gan succeeded Brigadier-General Neo Hong Keat as Commander of the Air Power Generation Command on 5 October 2016. In July 2019, she was appointed Chief of Staff – Air Staff, succeeding Brigadier-General Tommy Tan Ah Han. On 1 March 2020, she resigned as Chief of Staff – Air Staff to stand for election in the 2020 general election.

Political career

On 26 June 2020, Gan was officially introduced as a People's Action Party (PAP) candidate contesting in the 2020 general election.[11] She contested in Marymount SMC against Ang Yong Guan of the Progress Singapore Party (PSP)[12] and won with 55.04% of the vote, thus becoming the Member of Parliament representing Marymount SMC.[13]

On 25 July 2020, Gan was appointed as Minister of State for Education and Minister of State for Manpower.[14]

Personal life

Gan is married to Lee Jek Suen, a former Republic of Singapore Navy officer who now works at Jurong Port.[15] They have three children.[16] Gan is also a volunteer with the Girl Guides Singapore[5] and a member of its executive committee in 2016 and 2017.[17]

References

  1. 1 2 "MP | Parliament of Singapore".
  2. ↑ "Singapore GE2020: PAP's Marymount candidate and S'pore's first woman general Gan Siow Huang goes from protecting country to serving its citizens". Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  3. ↑ "Chin, Gan and Ng, Making a Difference: RSAF's Role in Peacetime Operations". Pointer. 32 (1). 2006. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  4. ↑ "Profile of Siow Huang Gan (Class of 2010), MIT Sloan Fellows Program, retrieved 8 Oct 2016". Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Ms Gan Siow Huang is the Minister of State for Education and Manpower. She is also the Member of Parliament for Marymount Single Member Constituency" (PDF).
  6. ↑ Tan, Lynette. "Sense of purpose drives SAF's first woman General". Today Online. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  7. ↑ "National Day Award Recipients". www.pmo.gov.sg. Archived from the original on 24 November 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  8. ↑ Chow, Jermyn. "SAF gets its first female general". Archived from the original on 24 November 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  9. ↑ Chan, Luo Er. "SAF promotes first female to Brigadier-General rank". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 28 June 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  10. ↑ "Speech by Ms Low Yen Ling, Parliamentary Secretary for Trade & Industry and Education at the CEDAW Forum 2015 "See Doors Open: Celebrating 20 Years of CEDAW"". app.msf.gov.sg. Archived from the original on 30 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  11. ↑ "Singapore GE2020: PAP unveils final batch of candidates, including Singapore's first woman brigadier-general". The Straits Times. June 26, 2020. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  12. ↑ Yusof, Amir (30 June 2020). "GE2020: New Marymount SMC sees contest between PAP's Gan Siow Huang and PSP's Ang Yong Guan". Channel News Asia. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  13. ↑ "GE2020 results: PAP's Gan Siow Huang wins Marymount with 55.04% over PSP's Ang Yong Guan". AsiaOne. 2020-07-11. Archived from the original on 2020-07-11. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  14. ↑ katherine_chen (2020-07-25). "PMO | Changes to Cabinet and Other Appointments (July 2020)". Prime Minister's Office Singapore. Archived from the original on 2020-07-25. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
  15. ↑ "Yes, I interviewed ex-RSAF general & MP Gan Siow Huang. No, I didn't sign any extra duties".
  16. ↑ Jermyn, Chow. "High-flier: Pioneer scholarship holder also proud mum". AsiaOne. Archived from the original on 24 November 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  17. ↑ "Singapore Girl Guides Executive Committee. Retrieved 24 Oct 2016". Archived from the original on 2016-11-24.
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