Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Goh Chok Tong
Goh Chok Tong AC SPMJ (born 20 May 1941), also known by his initials GCT, is a Singaporean retired politician who served as the second prime minister of Singapore from 1990 to 2004 and as a senior minister of Singapore from 2004 to 2011. He served as the secretary-general of the People's Action Party (PAP) from 1992 to 2004 and was the member of Parliament (MP) for Marine Parade Single Member Constituency from 1976 to 1988, and Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency from 1988 to 2020.
Prior to his appointment as prime minister, he was the country's deputy prime minister, where he advocated for the Medisave, a savings scheme that allows Singaporeans to set aside part of their income into a Medisave account to meet future medical expenses. Goh also advocated for the Edusave Awards, a monetary reward for students who did well in school based on either their academic achievements or character to enshrine meritocracy.
Shortly before and during his tenure as prime minister, Goh proposed political reforms like the introduction of Non-Constituency Members of Parliament (NCMP), to allow more opposition into Parliament, Group Representation Constituencies (GRC), to make sure that minorities are represented in Parliament and Nominated Members of Parliament (NMP), to have independent opinions in Parliament since all NMPs are non-partisan. Goh assumed the responsibility of government in a carefully managed leadership transition. Goh enacted the Elected President scheme in 1991 as presidents before were appointed by Parliament. He also introduced the Vehicle Quota Scheme to limit the number of vehicles in the city-state.
On 12 August 2004, Goh was succeeded by Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Singapore's first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, and was subsequently appointed as a senior minister in the Cabinet and chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) between 2004 and 2011. He resigned from the Cabinet in 2011, and was given the honorary title of "Emeritus Senior Minister" by Lee. He stepped down as a Member of Parliament (MP) and retired from politics in 2020.
Goh was born in Singapore on 20 May 1941 to Goh Kah Choon and Quah Kwee Hwa, who hailed from the Minnan region of Fujian province in China. He has Chinese Hokkien ancestry. Goh studied at Raffles Institution from 1955 to 1960. He was a very competitive swimmer in his younger days and was given the nickname "Bold".
Goh completed a Bachelor of Arts with first class honours degree in economics at the University of Singapore, and a Master of Arts degree in development economics at Williams College in 1967.
Upon his graduation, Goh returned to Singapore to work in the government. Goh's dream of getting a PhD was disrupted as the government would not transfer his bursary bond to the university, where he had signed on as a research fellow after graduation.
In 2015, Goh was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by his alma mater, the National University of Singapore, for his contributions to the country.
Hub AI
Goh Chok Tong AI simulator
(@Goh Chok Tong_simulator)
Goh Chok Tong
Goh Chok Tong AC SPMJ (born 20 May 1941), also known by his initials GCT, is a Singaporean retired politician who served as the second prime minister of Singapore from 1990 to 2004 and as a senior minister of Singapore from 2004 to 2011. He served as the secretary-general of the People's Action Party (PAP) from 1992 to 2004 and was the member of Parliament (MP) for Marine Parade Single Member Constituency from 1976 to 1988, and Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency from 1988 to 2020.
Prior to his appointment as prime minister, he was the country's deputy prime minister, where he advocated for the Medisave, a savings scheme that allows Singaporeans to set aside part of their income into a Medisave account to meet future medical expenses. Goh also advocated for the Edusave Awards, a monetary reward for students who did well in school based on either their academic achievements or character to enshrine meritocracy.
Shortly before and during his tenure as prime minister, Goh proposed political reforms like the introduction of Non-Constituency Members of Parliament (NCMP), to allow more opposition into Parliament, Group Representation Constituencies (GRC), to make sure that minorities are represented in Parliament and Nominated Members of Parliament (NMP), to have independent opinions in Parliament since all NMPs are non-partisan. Goh assumed the responsibility of government in a carefully managed leadership transition. Goh enacted the Elected President scheme in 1991 as presidents before were appointed by Parliament. He also introduced the Vehicle Quota Scheme to limit the number of vehicles in the city-state.
On 12 August 2004, Goh was succeeded by Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Singapore's first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, and was subsequently appointed as a senior minister in the Cabinet and chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) between 2004 and 2011. He resigned from the Cabinet in 2011, and was given the honorary title of "Emeritus Senior Minister" by Lee. He stepped down as a Member of Parliament (MP) and retired from politics in 2020.
Goh was born in Singapore on 20 May 1941 to Goh Kah Choon and Quah Kwee Hwa, who hailed from the Minnan region of Fujian province in China. He has Chinese Hokkien ancestry. Goh studied at Raffles Institution from 1955 to 1960. He was a very competitive swimmer in his younger days and was given the nickname "Bold".
Goh completed a Bachelor of Arts with first class honours degree in economics at the University of Singapore, and a Master of Arts degree in development economics at Williams College in 1967.
Upon his graduation, Goh returned to Singapore to work in the government. Goh's dream of getting a PhD was disrupted as the government would not transfer his bursary bond to the university, where he had signed on as a research fellow after graduation.
In 2015, Goh was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by his alma mater, the National University of Singapore, for his contributions to the country.