Chan Chun Sing

Chan Chun Sing (, born 1969) is a Singaporean politician. A member of the country's governing People's Action Party (PAP), he is currently the Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for Defence. He has been a Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency since the 2011 general election. Prior to entering politics, he served in the Singapore Armed Forces, where he rose to the rank of Major-General and served as Singapore's Chief of Army from 2010 to 2011.

Military career
Chan served in the Singapore Army from 1987 to 2011. His appointments included Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (1998-2000), Army Attaché in Jakarta (2001–03), Commander of the 10th Singapore Infantry Brigade (2003–04), Head of the Joint Plans and Transformation Department (2005–07), Commander of the 9th Division / Chief Infantry Officer (2007–09), and Chief of Staff - Joint Staff (2009–10).

Chan was appointed the Chief of Army on 26 March 2010 (replacing Major-General Neo Kian Hong). He left the Singapore Armed Forces on 25 March 2011 in order to stand for Parliament (and was replaced as Chief of Army by Brigadier-General Ravinder Singh).

Political career
Chan was a PAP candidate in the Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency at the 2011 general election. The PAP's team in the constituency was led by former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, and was declared elected on Nomination Day (27 April 2011) in a walkover. Chan became the representative of the Buona Vista ward in the constituency (replacing Lim Swee Say).

Following the general election, Chan was appointed the Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, and a Minister of State at the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts. At the age of 42 then, Chan was one of the youngest ministers to be appointed to the Singapore Cabinet. A special report published in The Straits Times on 31 December 2011 detailed a list of Chan's accomplishments, which fuelled talks that Chan is the frontrunner to become Singapore's next Prime Minister.

On 31 July 2012, Chan relinquished his appointment in MICA and was appointed as Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF). Following a restructuring of government ministries in November 2012, he began heading the newly created Ministry of Social and Family Development as Acting Minister. He was promoted to full Minister in September 2013, and concurrently serves as Second Minister for Defence.

Education
Chan was educated at Raffles Institution (1982–85) and Raffles Junior College (1986–87).

In 1988, Chan was awarded a President's Scholarship and Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship to study in the University of Cambridge, where he completed a degree in economics at Christ's College.

In 2005, Chan completed the Sloan Fellows programme at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) under a Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship.