Ho Ching
SMIJ PSLJ
何晶
Ho Ching in August 2016
Spouse of the Prime Minister of Singapore
Assumed role
12 August 2004
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded byTan Choo Leng
Chairperson of Temasek Trust
Assumed office
1 April 2022
Preceded byS Dhanabalan
Personal details
Born (1953-03-27) 27 March 1953
Colony of Singapore
Spouse
​
(m. 1985)​
Children2
Alma materNational University of Singapore (BEng)
Stanford University (MS)
OccupationBusiness executive
ProfessionElectrical engineer

Ho Ching (Chinese: 何晶; pinyin: Hé Jīng; Wade–Giles: Ho2 Ching1; Cantonese Yale: Hòh Jīng; born 27 March 1953) is a Singaporean businesswoman.

Ho has been serving as the chairperson of Temasek Trust since 2022. She is the wife of incumbent Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong. Ho took the role as the spouse of the Prime Minister of Singapore since 2004. [1]

Ho joined Temasek Holdings as a director in January 2002. She became its executive director in May 2002 and was appointed as the chief executive officer by Goh Chok Tong in January 2004.[2]

As of 2020, she is listed as the 30th Most Powerful Woman in the World by Forbes.[3]

Early life and education

Ho was born on 27 March 1953 in Singapore. She attended Crescent Girls' School and National Junior College—where she became one of the top students for the A Level examinations in her cohort and was named Student of the Year,[4] before graduating from the University of Singapore (now the National University of Singapore) in 1976 with a Bachelor of Engineering with first class honours degree in electrical engineering.[4]

She subsequently went on to complete a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering at Stanford University in 1982.[4]

Career

Ho started her career as an engineer with the Ministry of Defence of Singapore in 1976.[5] In 1983, she became the Director of Defence Materials Organisation, the procurement agency of the ministry and concurrently held the position of deputy director of Defence Science Organisation.

Ho joined Singapore Technologies in 1987 as deputy director of engineering and took on various senior responsibilities before becoming its president and chief executive officer in 1997.[4] She is credited with repositioning and growing the group in the five years that she led it. For instance, she was the architect for the formation and listing of Singapore Technologies Engineering in 1997 and served as its first chairperson.[4]

Ho joined Temasek Holdings as a director in January 2002 and became its executive director in May 2002.[6]

Ho assumed the role of chief executive officer of Temasek on 1 January 2004. She is widely credited with transforming Temasek, an investment company owned by the Government of Singapore, from a Singapore-focused firm into an active investor in Asia and the world.[7]

Ho has served as chairperson of the Singapore Institute of Standards and Industrial Research, and as deputy chairperson of the Productivity and Standards Board, and the Economic Development Board.[8]

Ho stepped down as CEO and executive director on 1 October 2021, being succeeded by Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, who will continue to concurrently hold his current appointment as chief executive of Temasek International.[9] The same day, she was appointed as a director of Temasek Trust. On 1 April 2022, she succeeded S. Dhanabalan as chairperson of Temasek Trust.[10]

Honours

National

For her public service, she was conferred the

Foreign

  • First Class of The Most Distinguished Order of Paduka Seri Laila Jasa – Darjah Paduka Seri Laila Jasa (PSLJ), which carries the title Datin Paduka Seri Laila Jasa (16 July 2022). [13]

Academic

Others

Ho has appeared in many rankings of the most powerful and influential people in the world. In 2007, Ho was picked as one of the "100 most influential men and women" who shaped the world by Time magazine.[14] In 2007, Forbes magazine ranked her 3rd in its annual list of the world's most powerful women, behind German Chancellor Angela Merkel and China's Vice-Premier Wu Yi. Ho had climbed 33 spots from 36th place in the previous year's list.[15]

In 2011, Ho was included in the '50 Most Influential' ranking by Bloomberg Markets magazine.[16]

In 2013, Ho was ranked ninth on the Public Investor 100 ranking compiled by the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute.[17]

In 2014, she was listed as the 59th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.[18] In June, Ho was also awarded the 2014 Asian Business Leaders Award. The annual Asia House award recognises individuals who embody the 'Servant Leader' – economic success and professional excellence accompanied by moral leadership and service to society. Asia House is a centre of expertise on Asia and the leading pan-Asian organisation in the UK.[19] She became the 30th most powerful woman in 2016.[3]

In 2019, she ranked No. 23 in the Power Women 2019 of Forbes list,[20] while in 2020 she ranked 30th again.[21]

Philanthropy

In her personal capacity, Ho supports various community service and charitable organisations. She has particular interest in special needs education, healthcare and the welfare and development of children. She is the patron of Assisi Hospice, and the founding chairman of Trailblazer Foundation Ltd, an IPC charity which provides funding for education, health, sports and community welfare. In March 2014, Ho was inducted into the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations' Singapore Women's Hall of Fame, which honours outstanding women of Singapore.[4]

In August 2016, Ho received a positive reception[22] when on a state visit to the White House to mark 50 years of bilateral relations between the US and Singapore,[23] she carried a pouch designed by an autistic student from Pathlight School (under its Artist Development Program).[24] Ho is an advisor to the Autism Resource Centre (ARC), a non-profit charity in charge of Pathlight School, and had acquired the pouch at an ARC fundraising event.[25] Ho is also a patron of the Autism Association of Singapore.[26]

Personal life

Ho is the eldest of four children of businessman, Ho Eng Hong (born 1926) and Chan Chiew Ping (1931-2005).[27][28] She has two brothers and a sister.[29] Her sister, Ho Peng, is the chairperson of the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board, while her brother, Ho Sing, is an executive director of Starhill Global REIT[30] She met her husband, Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, while starting out in her career at the Ministry of Defence together with former prime minister Goh Chok Tong.[31] They married on 17 December 1985 and have two sons, Hongyi and Haoyi. Ho is stepmother to Lee's two children from his first marriage—daughter Xiuqi and son Yipeng.[32]

Family tree of Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Bok Boon
1846–1920		Seow Huan Neo
1850–c. 1931
Lee Hoon Leong
1871–1942		Ko Liem Nio
1883–1959
Lee Chin Koon
1903–1997[33]		Chua Jim Neo
1907–1980
Lee Kuan Yew
1923–2015		Kwa Geok Choo
1920–2010		Dennis Lee Kim Yew
1925-2003[34]		Gloria Lee (Woo) Sau Yin[35]Freddy Lee Thiam Yew
1927-2012[36]		Eleanor Ngo Puay Chin[35]Monica Lee Kim Mon
b. 1929 or 1930[37]		George Chan Chor Cheung[35]Dr Lee Suan Yew
b. 1933[38]		Pamela Chong[35]
Wong Ming Yang
1951–1982[39]		Lee Hsien Loong
b. 1952		Ho Ching
b. 1953		Lee Wei Ling
b. 1955		Lee Hsien Yang
b. 1957		Lim Suet Fern
b. 1958[40]
Li Xiuqi
b. 1981[41]		Li Yipeng
b. 1982[41]		Li Hongyi
b. 1987[41]		Li Haoyi
b. 1989[41]		Li Shengwu
b. 1985[41]		Li Huanwu
b. 1986[41]		Li Shaowu
b. 1995[41]

Social media activity

Ho is an active social media user and regularly shares her views and interacts with others on Facebook. According to news reports, Ho posted on Facebook an average of 4,800 per month from 2019 - 2020 and has published about 1,830 posts on average from 2015 - 2020. In 2020, she had more than 101,000 Facebook followers.[42] At times, Ho has made more than 200 posts per day.[43] She has occasionally re-shared several posts made by members of the Cabinet in quick succession.[44][45]

Some of Ho's public posts have drawn significant media attention and have been the subject of public controversy in Singapore and abroad.[46][47]

On 11 April 2020, Ho shared an article on Facebook about Taiwan’s donation of masks to Singapore with the following caption: "Errr". Her comment was made shortly after media reports suggested that a ban on the export of masks imposed by Taipei during the COVID-19 pandemic had prevented ST Engineering from exporting masks produced in Taiwan to Singapore. Some commentators suggested that Ho was ungrateful for the donation of masks to Singapore by Taiwan. Ho subsequently amended her caption to state that she was "forever grateful... to all our friends and friends of friends in Taiwan".[48]

In August 2023, amidst public debate over then-presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian's posts about 'pretty girls', Ho shared her views on Facebook, suggesting that the Presidential Elections Committee should not be expected to be the "arbiter of moral standards" and that "[m]aybe TKL had asked for permission to take the pictures or to post".[49]

References

  1. ↑ Jim Rogers (3 May 2007). "Ho Ching – The Time 100". Time. Archived from the original on 5 May 2007. Retrieved 5 May 2007.
  2. ↑ "Untitled" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  3. 1 2 "World's Most Powerful Women". Forbes. Archived from the original on 28 June 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Singapore Women's Hall of Fame: Ho Ching". Archived from the original on 23 March 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  5. ↑ "Temasek: Ho Ching Biography" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "Temasek: Ho Ching's Biography" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  7. ↑ "Ho Ching takes Temasek to new heights". Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  8. ↑ "Book SG: Portrait of Madam Ho Ching, circa 1994". Archived from the original on 23 March 2014.
  9. ↑ "Leadership Transition at Temasek Holdings: Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara to be appointed Executive Director & CEO with effect from 1 October 2021".
  10. ↑ Choo, Yun Ting (30 September 2021). "Retiring Temasek CEO Ho Ching to join Temasek Trust board, take over as chairman from April 1, 2022". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  11. ↑ "PM Lee and Ho Ching to receive royal honours from Johor Sultan". The Straits Times. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  12. ↑ "Singapore PM and wife to receive royal honours from Johor Sultan". The Star. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  13. ↑ "PM Lee Hsien Loong, Ho Ching to receive awards in Brunei".
  14. ↑ Jim Rogers (3 May 2007). "Ho Ching – The 2007 Time 100". Time. Archived from the original on 24 March 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  15. ↑ Sheralyn Tay (1 September 2007). "Ho Ching, world's 3rd most powerful woman". TODAY. Archived from the original on 18 October 2007.
  16. ↑ "Bloomberg Markets Most Influential 50". Bloomberg Markets. 8 September 2011. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  17. ↑ "SWF Institute: Ho Ching". Archived from the original on 22 September 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  18. ↑ "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes. Archived from the original on 25 June 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  19. ↑ "The Temasek story: Growing with Singapore". Archived from the original on 7 January 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  20. ↑ "Ho Ching". Forbes. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  21. ↑ "Ho Ching". Forbes. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  22. ↑ "$11 pouch steals limelight at White House". BBC News. 4 August 2016. Archived from the original on 23 June 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  23. ↑ "State dinner celebrates 50 years of US-Singapore relations". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 17 October 2020.
  24. ↑ "Ho Ching's White House purse designed by autistic youth". The New Paper. 4 August 2016. Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  25. ↑ "'Overwhelming' demand for Pathlight pouch after Ho Ching carries it to White House". TODAYonline. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  26. ↑ "Management – Autism Association (Singapore)". Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  27. ↑ Southeast Asian Personalities of Chinese Descent: A Biographical Dictionary, Volume I & II. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. 2012. p. 334.
  28. ↑ "Katagogi.com | Family Roots and Heritage". Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  29. ↑ Rahim, Farah Abdul (24 May 2005). "Many turn up to pay last respects to the late mother-in-law of PM Lee". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 27 May 2005. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  30. ↑ "YTL Pacific Star hires Ho Ching's brother". The Edge Financial Daily. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  31. ↑ Webb, Sara (27 July 2007). "Temasek's chief, Ho Ching, likes to take risks". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 6 February 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  32. ↑ Hoe, Irene (18 December 1985). "When Xiu Qi almost stole the show". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  33. ↑ Chua, Alivin. "Lee Chin Koon". Singapore Infopedia.
  34. ↑ "Kuan Yew's brother Dennis dies". Archived from the original on 8 January 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  35. 1 2 3 4 "Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore, and his family, 1989 – BookSG". National Library Board, Singapore. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  36. ↑ "Lee Kuan Yew bids farewell to brother". Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  37. ↑ "The Lee Kuan Yew I remember: His sister Monica Lee, 85". Archived from the original on 8 January 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  38. ↑ Lee Kuan Yew (1998). The Singapore Story. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish.
  39. ↑ Chua, Mui Hoong (19 October 2003). "From the archives: Private side of DPM Lee". The Straits Times. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  40. ↑ Wong, Chun Han (14 July 2017). "Singapore, a Model of Orderly Rule, Is Jolted by a Bitter Family Feud". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  41. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Stolarchuk, Jewel (4 October 2020). "Rare interview: Li Shengwu felt like the first grandson to Mr and Mrs Lee". The Independent Singapore. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  42. ↑ "When Ho Ching posts on Facebook, Singapore pays attention. Is that a problem?". South China Morning Post. 25 April 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  43. ↑ Citizen, The Online (17 April 2020). "Temasek CEO, Ho Ching makes nearly 200 posts a day on Facebook - why?". The Online Citizen. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  44. ↑ stephen (14 April 2021). "Ho Ching now shares 13 Facebook posts by Lawrence Wong consecutively within 6 minutes". The Online Citizen. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  45. ↑ stephen (13 April 2021). "Ho Ching shares not 1, not 2, but 7 Facebook posts by Chan Chun Sing in a row within 15 minutes". The Online Citizen. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  46. ↑ "When Ho Ching posts on Facebook, Singapore pays attention. Is that a problem?". South China Morning Post. 25 April 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  47. ↑ "Making Sense of Ho Ching's Facebook Page". RICE. 10 March 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  48. ↑ "'Errrr' … Singapore's Ho Ching thanks Taiwan after quibble over masks". South China Morning Post. 13 April 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  49. ↑ "'Maybe he had asked for permission to take the pictures': Ho Ching weighs in on Tan Kin Lian's 'pretty girls' Facebook posts". AsiaOne. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
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