Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06SINGAPORE1667
2006-05-24 06:18:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Singapore
Cable title:  

PM LEE MAKES MINOR CHANGES TO GOS CABINET

Tags:  ECON PGOV PHUM SN 
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VZCZCXRO5253
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHGP #1667/01 1440618
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 240618Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9990
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SINGAPORE 001667 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON PGOV PHUM SN
SUBJECT: PM LEE MAKES MINOR CHANGES TO GOS CABINET

REF: A. SINGAPORE 1379

B. SINGAPORE 1326

C. SINGAPORE 1289

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SINGAPORE 001667

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON PGOV PHUM SN
SUBJECT: PM LEE MAKES MINOR CHANGES TO GOS CABINET

REF: A. SINGAPORE 1379

B. SINGAPORE 1326

C. SINGAPORE 1289


1. (U) Summary: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced
minor changes to his cabinet on May 22. The only ministerial
change involves Minister for Transport Yeo Cheow Tong, who
will be stepping down; his replacement will be Raymond Lim,
currently Minister in the Prime Minister's Office. Five new
MPs will be appointed to junior positions in the cabinet.
Other ministers have shuffled their secondary portfolios,
likely in anticipation of further moves mid-term. The current
cabinet line-up is in paragraph 7. End Summary.

One Ministerial Change
--------------


2. (U) Two weeks after winning his first election as Prime
Minister, PM Lee Hsien Loong named a new cabinet that
reportedly reflects his priorities for the next term:
education, foreign affairs, and youth matters. President S.

R. Nathan will swear in PM Lee and the new cabinet on May 30.
In the only ministerial change, Raymond Lim will take over
as Minister of Transport from Yeo Cheow Tong, who is stepping
down. This will be the first time that Lim has headed his
own ministry. He will retain his position as Second Minister
for Foreign Affairs, but will drop the positions of Second
Minister for Finance and Minister in the Prime Minister's
Office.

Possible Mid-Term Moves
--------------


3. (U) Tharman Shanmugaratnam will remain Minister for
Education, but will replace Mr. Lim as Second Finance
Minister, assisting PM Lee who will continue as Finance
Minister. Shanmugaratnam is a likely candidate for Finance
Minister in the future. He has a strong financial
background, having been managing director for the Monetary
Authority of Singapore (MAS),the country's central bank,
before leaving MAS in 2001 to run for parliament.


4. (U) Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports,
Vivian Balakrishnan, will also become Second Minister for
Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA),dropping his
position as Second Minister for Trade and Industry. The
current MICA Minister, Dr. Lee Boon Yang, had asked to
retire, but PM Lee persuaded him to stay until mid-term so
that his successor could be groomed. Balakrishnan will

likely assume the position of Minister for MICA mid-term when
Dr. Lee Boon Yang steps down.

New MPs Taking Up Appointments
--------------


5. (U) The PM named five newly elected MPs to junior
positions in the cabinet. Ms. Grace Fu will become Minister
of State for National Development; Mr. Lee Yi Shyan will
become Minister of State for Trade and Industry; and Rear
Admiral Lui Tuck Yew (former Chief of the Navy) will become
Minister of State for Education. Mr. Teo Ser Luck will
become Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry for Community
Development, Youth and Sports, and Mr. Masagos Zulkifly will
become Senior Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of
Education.

Comment
--------------

6. (SBU) This minor reshuffle leaves in place the
tried-and-tested older generation. Some of them, such as
Deputy PM Jayakumar, are expected to retire before the next
election. The reshuffle also gives three of the cabinet's
rising stars -- Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Vivian Balakrishnan,
and Raymond Lim -- the chance to demonstrate if they can
perform well in new areas. It will be in keeping with past
practice if the Prime Minister undertakes a larger reshuffle
within two or three years in order to assign those who
succeed in their new jobs to positions of greater
responsibility. The appointments of the five new MPs signal
that the PAP has identified them as the candidates for the
follow-on generation of rising leaders.

Singapore Cabinet as of May 30, 2006
--------------


7. (U)

Lee Hsien Loong - Prime Minister, Minister for Finance

Goh Chok Tong - Senior Minister

Lee Kuan Yew - Minister Mentor

SINGAPORE 00001667 002 OF 002



Prof. S. Jayakumar - Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Law,
Co-ordinating Minister for Security and Defence at PM's Office

Wong Kan Seng - Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Home
Affairs

George Yeo Yong-Boon - Minister for Foreign Affairs

Dr. Lee Boon Yang - Minister for Information, Communications
and the Arts

Mah Bow Tan - Minister for National Development

Lim Boon Heng - Minister for Prime Minister's Office

Lim Hng Kiang - Minister for Trade and Industry

Teo Chee Hean - Minister for Defence

Lim Swee Say - Minister for Prime Minister's Office

Assoc. Prof. Yaacob Ibrahim - Minister for Environment and
Water Resources, Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs

Khaw Boon Wan - Minister for Health

Tharman Shanmugaratnam - Minister for Education, Second
Minister for Finance

Dr. Ng Eng Hen - Minister for Manpower, Second Minister for
Defence

Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan - Minister for Community Development,
Youth and Sports, Second Minister for Information,
Communications and the Arts

Raymond Lim Siang Keat - Minister for Transport, Second
Minister for Foreign Affairs
HERBOLD