Chan Choy Siong (b. 1934, Singapore–d. 11 February 1981, Singapore) was a pioneering female politician and activist for women’s rights, and was influential in enacting the Women’s Charter.

Seet Ai Mee (Dr) (b. 31 March 1943, Singapore–) was Singapore’s first female Cabinet minister. She assumed the position in July 1991 when she was appointed Acting Minister for Community Development in a cabinet reshuffle. Seet is also known for her contributions ...

Claire Chiang (b. 4 October 1951, Singapore–) is a social activist, entrepreneur and author. She was Singapore’s Woman of the Year in 1999, and a former nominated member of parliament. Married to Ho Kwon Ping, president of the Wah Chang/Thai Wah group of companies, ...

James Joseph Puthucheary (b. circa 1922, Kerala, India–d. 3 April 2000, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia) was an economist, trade unionist and lawyer. He supported the People’s Action Party (PAP) in the 1955 Legislative Assembly general election but later broke away from ...

Chengara Veetil Devan Nair (b. 5 August 1923, Jasin, near Malacca, Malaysia –d. 7 December 2005, Canada ), better known as just Devan Nair, was Singapore’s third president and first Indian president.

Haji Ya’acob bin Mohamed (b. 25 January 1925, Kelantan, Malaya –d. 11 October 1989, Singapore ) was a former politician and diplomat. He was a staunch advocate of Malay interests in Singapore and played a key role in winning Malay support for the People’s Action ...

Lim Chin Siong (b. 28 February 1933, Singapore–d. 5 February 1996, Singapore) was an influential trade union leader and a prominent left-wing political figure in Singapore. As a founding member of the People’s Action Party (PAP), Lim was elected as the assemblyman ...

Ho Kah Leong (b. 21 September 1937, Singapore -) a Cantonese, who established his name as both a politician and an artist. The former Member of Parliament of Jurong Constituency also served as Parliamentary Secretary in various ministries. He is an acclaimed amateur ...

Howe Yoon Chong (b. July 1923, China–d. 21 August 2007, Singapore) was the first chief executive officer (CEO) of the Housing and Development Board (HDB) when it was established in 1960 and head of the civil service from 1975 to 1979. After a civil service career ...

Sellapan Ramanathan (b. 3 July 1924, Singapore–22 August 2016, Singapore), commonly known as S. R. Nathan, served as the sixth president of Singapore from 1 September 1999 to 31 August 2011. He is Singapore’s longest-serving president. Prior to his presidency, ...

David Saul Marshall (b. 12 March 1908, Singapore–d. 12 December 1995, Singapore), Singapore’s first elected chief minister from 6 April 1955 to 7 June 1956, was a diplomat, top-notch criminal lawyer, leader of the Labour Front and founder of the Workers’ Party. ...

Lee Khoon Choy (b. 1924, Penang–27 February 2016, Singapore) served as a politician and diplomat for almost three decades. Before he retired from public service in 1988, he had held many positions in the government, including member of Parliament (MP) and senior ...

Sinnathamby Rajaratnam (b. 25 February 1915, Jaffna, Sri Lanka–d. 22 February 2006, Singapore), better known as S. Rajaratnam, was a former journalist, co-founder of the People's Action Party (PAP), first minister for foreign affairs in post-independence Singapore, ...

Goh Keng Swee (Dr) (b. 6 October 1918, Malacca–d. 14 May 2010, Singapore) has often been called the “economic architect” of Singapore for his great contributions to the development of Singapore into a prosperous nation during his terms as minister for finance and ...

Toh Chin Chye (Dr) (b. 10 December 1921, Batu Gajah, Perak–3 February 2012, Singapore) was the founding chairman of the People’s Action Party (PAP) and served as Singapore’s deputy prime minister from 1959 to 1968. Besides his science and technology ministerial ...

Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam (b. 5 January 1926, Jaffna, Sri Lanka–d. 30 September 2008, Singapore) was the first opposition member of parliament (MP) in post-independence Singapore. He broke the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) monopoly of parliament in 1981 when he ...

Abdul Rahim Ishak (b. 25 July 1925, Singapore–d. 18 January 2001, Singapore) was a former envoy and senior minister of state for foreign affairs. The youngest brother of Singapore’s first head of state and later president, Yusof Ishak, Rahim came from a large family ...

Tony Tan Keng Yam (Dr) (b. 7 February 1940, Singapore–) was the seventh president of Singapore (2011–17). After a career in banking, he entered into politics in 1979 and served as a minister in the cabinet, holding at various times the portfolios of education, ...

Suppiah Dhanabalan (b. 8 August 1937, Singapore–), also known as S. Dhanabalan or just Dhana, is a banker and former politician who served in various ministries, notably foreign affairs and national development. Since his retirement from politics, he has held chairmanships ...

Teh Cheang Wan (b. 3 March 1928, China–d. 14 December 1986, Singapore) was a trained architect widely known for his contributions to Singapore’s early public housing plans, particularly while he was heading the Housing and Development Board in its early stage and ...