Winston Choo

Winston Choo Wee Leong (born 18 July 1941) is a retired Singaporean military officer. He was the first Chief of Defence Force of the Singapore Armed Forces from 1974 to 1992, holding the rank of Lieutenant-General.

Early life and education
Choo was given the English name "Winston" by his grandfather, who named him after Winston Churchill. He grew up in Makepeace Road (in the Newton area) and received his education in Monk's Hill School (1947–1952) and Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) (1953–1957). While he was in ACS, he captained the school's football team, played hockey, and won the Queen's Badge (now the Founder's Badge) for his activities in the Boys' Brigade.

Military career
Choo enlisted in the Singapore Military Forces (later renamed to Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in 1961) in December 1959 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in December 1961 after completing his officer cadet training in Port Dickson, Malaysia. Following that, he served as a platoon commander in the 1st Battalion Singapore Infantry Regiment (1 SIR) and was involved in two major operations: being deployed to Sebatik Island, Borneo between 1963 and 1964 during the Konfrontasi; patrolling the streets during the 1964 race riots in Singapore.

When Singapore became independent on 9 August 1965, Choo, who was then the battalion signals officer, was appointed the first military aide-de-camp to Singapore's first President, Yusof bin Ishak. He was recalled to the SAF in 1966 and served as the first Commanding Officer (CO) of the 1st Signal Battalion from 1967 to 1968. Between 1968 and 1969, Choo attended the Long Telecommunications Course at the School of Signals in the U.K., returning to Singapore to serve as the Second-in-Command (2IC) of the 1st Signal Battalion. In 1970, he was appointed as the Chief of Communications and Electronics (now the Chief of Signals).

In 1971, Choo served briefly as the CO of the 4th Battalion Singapore Infantry Regiment (4 SIR) before attending the Command and General Staff College at Fort Canning. In the following year, he attended the US Army Command and General Staff course at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, U.S., and graduated with distinctions in all his subjects.

Upon his return to Singapore in September 1972, Choo assumed command of 1 SIR. In the same year, he was named an honorary aide-de-camp to Singapore's second President, Benjamin Sheares, and took up command of the 2nd Singapore Infantry Brigade (2 SIB). He was also promoted to the rank of Colonel. He was later posted to the Defence Ministry (MINDEF)'s headquarters, where he was appointed the Head of Training and Head of Organisation and Plans in 1973. In 1974, he succeeded Kirpa Ram Vij as Director of General Staff (renamed to "Chief of General Staff" in 1976). Choo was promoted to Brigadier (now replaced by Brigadier-General) in 1976 and to Major-General two years later.

Between 1978 and 1981, Choo attended a preparatory course in military history at the Department of History of the National University of Singapore (NUS). In 1982, he went to the U.S. to study for a master's degree in military history at Duke University and returned to Singapore later that year to resume his post as Chief of General Staff.

Choo was promoted to Lieutenant-General in 1988 and became the first Chief of Defence Force (CDF) in May 1990 after "Chief of General Staff" was renamed. He also completed an Advanced Management Program at Harvard University in 1992. He retired from the SAF on 30 June 1992.

Diplomatic career
After retiring from military service, Choo pursued a career in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). He was Singapore's High Commissioner to Australia and Fiji from 1994–1997 and to South Africa from 2001–2005. He was also a non-resident Ambassador to Papua New Guinea from 2000–2006 and to Israel since 2005.

Other work
Apart from his military and diplomatic careers, Choo also took on important roles in various organisations (both government and non-government), including: deputy chairman of the Central Provident Fund (1992–1994); chairman of Chartered Industries (1992–1994); board member of Singapore Technologies (1984–1992); board member of Keppel-Tat Lee Bank (1992–2001); chairman of the board of Metro Holdings (2007–present); chairman of the Singapore Red Cross Society (1996–2008); member of the Singapore Sports Council (late 1970s); member of the National Youth Achievement Award Council (current); third honorary president of the Boys' Brigade (2011–present).

Choo has contributed to several publications, including his recollections of Goh Keng Swee, and of his time in the Singapore diplomatic corps. He also supported the Dads for Life movement in Singapore by contributing to the book Letters from Grandpa and Grandma (pub. 2008).

Personal life
Choo has two sisters. He is married to Katherine Seow Guat Lee since 1966. They have two children and four grandchildren.

Awards
Throughout his career, Choo obtained many medals, some of which were on display at a National Library Board exhibition in 2006. What follows is a partial list of his medals:


 * Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander), in 1978.
 * Pingat Pentadbiran Awam / Public Administration Medal (Gold), in 1978.
 * Pingat Pentadbiran Awam (Tentera) / Public Administration Medal (Military) (Gold), in 1981.
 * Bintang Yudha Dharma Utama / War Service Star, First Class, in 1986.
 * Darjah Panglima Gagah Angkatan Tentera / Honorary Malaysian Armed Forces Order for Valour (First Degree), in 1987.
 * Meritorious Service Medal (Military), in 1990, for exceptional distinguished service in military command or staff work.
 * Pingat Bakti Masyarakat / Public Service Medal, in 2005, for his work with the Singapore Red Cross Society in tsunami relief operations.
 * Bintang Bakti Masyarakat / Public Service Star, in 2009, for his work with the Foreign Affairs Ministry.