Tharman Shanmugaratnam

Tharman Shanmugaratnam was elected as Singapore’s President in September 2023.

He served in politics for 22 years before resigning to contest in the Presidential Election. He was Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister for several years, and earlier as Education Minister. He last served in government as Senior Minister.

He has been committed through his years to building future economic resilience and a more inclusive social compact.

On the latter, he has been especially engaged in sustaining social mobility, making life-long learning a reality for all, and deepening Singapore’s multiculturalism.

Tharman has led several international councils focused especially on global financial reforms, preparedness for future pandemics, human development, and the changes needed to ensure a sustainable global water cycle.

This has included his chairing the G20 Eminent Persons Group on Global Financial Governance in 2017-2018. He was earlier selected by his international peers to chair the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), the IMF’s top policy forum. He has also co-chaired the Advisory Board for the UN Human Development Report (HDR) since 2019, most recently with Joseph E. Stiglitz.

He is married to Jane Ittogi, a lawyer by background and actively engaged in sustainability and social development initiatives. They have a daughter and three sons.

Source: Office of the President of the Republic of Singapore, November 2023