Richard Hu

Richard Hu Tsu Tau (Chinese: 胡赐道; pinyin: Hú Cìdào; born 30 October 1926) is a Singaporean retired politician who served as Minister for Finance between 1985 and 2001. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kreta Ayer SMC between 1984 and 1997 and Kreta Ayer–Tanglin GRC between 1997 and 2001.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Hu.
Richard Hu
胡赐道
Minister for Finance
In office
2 January 1985 – 10 November 2001
Prime MinisterLee Kuan Yew
Goh Chok Tong
Preceded byTony Tan
Succeeded byLee Hsien Loong
Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore
In office
January 1985 – December 1997
Prime MinisterLee Kuan Yew
Goh Chok Tong
Preceded byGoh Keng Swee
Succeeded byLee Hsien Loong
Minister for Health
In office
1985–1987
Prime MinisterLee Kuan Yew
Preceded byTony Tan
Succeeded byYeo Cheow Tong
Member of the Singapore Parliament
for Kreta Ayer–Tanglin GRC
(Kreta Ayer)
In office
2 January 1997 – 18 October 2001
Preceded byHimself (Kreta Ayer SMC)
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Member of the Singapore Parliament
for Kreta Ayer SMC
In office
22 December 1984 – 16 December 1996
Preceded byGoh Keng Swee
Succeeded byHimself (Kreta Ayer–Tanglin GRC - Kreta Ayer)
Personal details
Born
Richard Hu Tsu Tau

(1926-10-30) 30 October 1926
Singapore, Straits Settlements, British Malaya
SpouseIrene Tan Dee Leng
Children2
ParentHu Tsai Kuen (father)
Alma materUniversity of California, Berkeley (BS)
University of Birmingham (PhD)

Early life

Hu was born in Singapore from Hu Tsai Kuen, a doctor,[1] and Margaret Kwan Fu Shing. He was educated at the Anglo-Chinese School before graduating from the University of California, Berkeley in 1952 with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry. He subsequently went on to complete a PhD in chemical engineering at the University of Birmingham.[2]

Career

Hu joined the Royal Dutch Shell Group of Companies in 1960 and rose to the position of Chairman and Chief Executive of this global company in Singapore between 1977 and 1983.[3]

In 1983, Hu became the Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), holding both posts concurrently until 1984. He was chairman of Monetary Authority of Singapore from 1985 to 1997.[4]

Hu contested as a People's Action Party candidate in the Kreta Ayer Single Member Constituency[5] in 1984 General Elections and won the election. Following the elections, he became the Minister for Health for two years from 1985 to 1987 and the Minister of Finance[6] for 16 years from 1985 to 2001.[7] He had also briefly served as Minister for National Development from 1992 till 1993.[1] As the Minister for Finance, Hu is perhaps best known by his signature on the 'Ship' series of legal tender notes issued after his appointment.[8] He also introduced the Goods and Services Tax in 1993. As part of deregulation and reform of its financial and banking sectors, Hu oversaw the privatization of the government-run Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) and the sale of POSB to the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) in 1998.[9]

On 13 April 2004, Hu joined the Board of Singaporean property development company CapitaLand and was elected Chairman the same day, until his retirement in 2012.[10] He was also the Chairman of GIC Real Estate Pte Ltd[11] and Asia Financial Holdings Pte Ltd, as well as a Director of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC)[12] and a Director of Buildfolio.Com.Inc. Hu also served as the Chancellor of the Singapore Management University from July 2002 to August 2010.[13]

Hu retired from GIC in 2012.[14]

In 2013, Hu was appointed as senior advisor of the Fraser and Neave board.[15]

Personal life

Hu is married to Irene Tan Dee Leng.[16] They have two children.[17] He is of Hakka Chinese ancestry.

References
  1. Tay, Hwee Peng; Chew, Hui Min (4 March 2016). "Heng Swee Keat to present Budget 2016: Who were the finance ministers before him? | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  2. "Heng Swee Keat to present Budget 2016: Who were the finance ministers before him?". Straitstimes.com. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  3. "Management Team | Barghest Building Performance". Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  4. "Our History". Mas.gov.sg.
  5. "Official Reports". Parliament of Singapore. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  6. Tesoro, Jose Manuel. "SINGAPORE Keeping Up the Pace". Asiaweek. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  7. "Finance Minister Bios". Mof.gov. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  8. "Note Facts". The Singapore Mint. The Singapore Mint. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  9. "National Archives of Singapore". Nas.gov.sg. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  10. "CapitaLand chairman Richard Hu to step down". Btinvest.com.sg. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  11. "Richard Hu Tsu Tau Ph.D." Bloomberg News. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  12. Lee, Meixian. "Richard Hu to retire from GIC board". Forums.condosingapore.com. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  13. "31 August 2010". Smu.edu.sg. Archived from the original on 6 September 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  14. Lee, Meixian (2 November 2012). "Richard Hu to retire from GIC board". The Straits Times. p. 22.
  15. "F&N: Appoints Dr. Richard Hu As Senior Adviser To The Board". Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Business Times. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  16. Who's who in Singapore, 2006. Kar Tiang Low, Who's Who Publishing (3rd ed.). Singapore: Who's Who Pub. 2006. p. 193. ISBN 981-4062-02-2. OCLC 62782476.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  17. Migration (13 January 1985). "From the archives: Money man with a soft touch | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
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