Desmond Tan | |
|---|---|
陈国明 | |
| Deputy Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress | |
| Assumed office 30 June 2022 Serving with Heng Chee How | |
| Secretary-General | Ng Chee Meng |
| Preceded by | Chee Hong Tat |
| Member of Parliament forPasir Ris–Changi GRC | |
| Assumed office 4 May 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Majority | 31,955(35.36%) |
| Member of Parliament forPasir Ris–Punggol GRC | |
| In office 10 July 2020 – 15 April 2025 | |
| Preceded by | PAP held |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Majority | 44,466(28.30%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Desmond Tan Kok Ming (1970-09-13)13 September 1970 (age 55) |
| Political party | People's Action Party |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of Manchester (BEng) King's College London (MA) Nanyang Technological University (MBA) |
| Awards | SAF Overseas Medal (Enhanced) NATO (ISAF) Medal[1] |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | Singapore Army |
| Years of service | 1988–2016 |
| Rank | Brigadier-General |
| Commands | Chief of Staff – General Staff Director of Joint Operations National Contingent Commander ChiefGuards Officer Director of Public Affairs |
| Battles/wars | |
Desmond Tan Kok Ming[a] (born 13 September 1970)[2] is a Singaporean politician, union leader and formerbrigadier-general. A member of the governingPeople's Action Party (PAP), he was theMember of Parliament (MP) representing thePasir Ris–Punggol Group Representation Constituency (GRC) between 2020 and 2025 and the MP representing thePasir Ris–Changi Group Representation Constituency since 2025. Tan was theMinister of State for Home Affairs andMinister of State for Sustainability and the Environment concurrently between 2020 and 2022. and now theSenior Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office since 2024. He is also the Deputy Secretary-General of theNational Trade Union Congress since 2022.[3]
Prior to entering politics, Tan had served 28 years in theSingapore Army under theSingapore Armed Forces (SAF) and attained the rankBrigadier-General. He left the SAF in 2017. He had also served as chief executive director of thePeople's Association between 2017 and 2020.[4] Tan made his political debut in the2020 general election when he joined a five-member PAP team contesting in Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC, which they won with 64.15% of the vote.
Tan grew up with his three siblings living in a three-room HDB flat inBukit Ho Swee where his father worked as a taxi driver while his mother takes up odd jobs.[5]
Tan attendedQueenstown Secondary Technical School andRaffles Junior College before graduating from theUniversity of Manchester with aBachelor of Engineering degree with honours inaeronautical engineering in 1994 under the Singapore Armed Forces Merit Scholarship. He also completed a master's degree in defence strategic studies atKing's College London in 2000 and aMaster of Business Administration atNanyang Technological University.[1]
Tan started his career in theSingapore Armed Forces and spent 28 years in the military before rising to the rank ofBrigadier-General. During his service, he held various appointments, including Chief of Staff – General Staff, Director of Joint Operations, ChiefGuards Officer, and Director of Public Affairs. He was also Chairman of theNDP 2012 Executive Committee, and had participated in theInternational Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan as Singapore's contingent commander. He received theSAF Overseas Medal (Enhanced) andNATO (ISAF) Medal.[1]
After retiring from the Singapore Armed Forces in 2017, Tan joined thePeople's Association as its chief executive director before stepping down in June 2020 to run for election in the2020 general election.[6]
Tan made his political debut in the2020 general election when he joined a five-memberPeople's Action Party (PAP) team contesting inPasir Ris–Punggol GRC. The PAP team won with 64.15% of the vote against theSingapore Democratic Alliance andPeoples Voice, and Tan was elected as theMember of Parliament representing thePasir Ris Central ward of Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC.
On 27 July 2020, he was appointedMinister of State for Home Affairs andMinister of State for Sustainability and the Environment.[2]
In June 2022, a cabinet reshuffle by Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong led to Tan relinquishing his positions of Minister of State for Home Affairs and Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment while assuming the position of Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office and joining theNational Trades Union Congress (NTUC) as Deputy Secretary-General. This would replace the existing NTUC Deputy Secretary-GeneralChee Hong Tat, who would leave NTUC to return to the government on a full-time basis. This move was described as allowing Tan to focus his time on his duties for the NTUC.[7][8][9] In May 2024, Tan was promoted to Senior Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office while continuing his stint in NTUC.
Tan, as Assistant Secretary-General of the NTUC, is often called a labour MP by the Singapore media.[10] In October 2024,ChannelNewsAsia noted that none of the labour MPs filed any questions or spoke during the parliamentary debate concerning the controversial deal to sell a controlling 51% stake inNTUC Enterprise subsidiaryIncome Insurance toAllianz.[11]
In the2025 general election, Tan joined the newly-created four-memberPasir Ris–Changi GRC. The PAP team won with 67.68% of the vote against theSingapore Democratic Alliance and Tan was elected as theMember of Parliament representing thePasir Ris Central ward of Pasir Ris–Changi GRC.[12][13]
In January 2025, Tan faced backlash over his listening ear in a ST podcast in which his remarks about often being a ‘listening ear’ rather than solving problems during Meet-the-People Sessions (MPS) have drawn public criticism..[14]
Tan is married with three children.[1][15]
| Parliament of Singapore | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC 2020–2025 Served alongside:Sharael Taha,Teo Chee Hean,Yeo Wan Ling,Janil Puthucheary | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris–Changi GRC 2025–present Served alongside: (2025–present):Indranee Rajah,Sharael Taha,Valerie Lee | Incumbent |
