Benjamin Pwee

Benjamin Pwee is a politician from Singapore. Since March 2013, he has been the Secretary-General of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Pwee was a member of the Singapore People's Party (SPP) from 2011 to 2012, and stood as a candidate for the party at the 2011 general election in the Bishan-Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency (GRC).

Career

Pwee was a recipient of a Singapore government Overseas Merit Scholarship and studied Literature and Music at Cambridge University. Upon returning from his studies, he served in Administrative Service of the Singapore Civil Service for eight years, holding various posts in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1995 to 1998, he was the First Secretary (Political and Economic Affairs) at the Singapore Embassy in Beijing.

Pwee left the civil service to become an Executive Director of Medical Services International, a regional non-governmental organisation doing social welfare work in China. He subsequently became the Managing Director of E-deo Asia, a business consultancy firm.[1]

Political career

In his youth, Pwee was the chairman of the youth wing of Singapore's governing People's Action Party (PAP) in the Thomson area.

However in 2011 Pwee joined the opposition Singapore People's Party. He stood as candidate for the party in the 2011 general election in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC. The party's five-member team in the GRC also included the party leader, Chiam See Tong. In the end, the SPP's team was defeated by the PAP team (which included Singapore's then-Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng and Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen) by 62,385 votes (56.9%) to 47,205 (43.1%).[2] Shortly after the general election, Pwee became the SPP's Second Assistant Secretary-General.[3][4] However Pwee left the SPP in January 2012.[5]

In January 2013, Pwee joined the Democratic Progressive Party and became the party's Acting Secretary-General.[6] He was confirmed as the party's Secretary-General at an Ordinary Party Congress meeting on 31 March 2013.

Education

Pwee holds a Master of Arts degree from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom and a Master's degree in Christian Studies from the China Graduate School of Theology in Hong Kong.[7]

Personal life

Pwee is married and has three children.

References

  1. ↑ Benjamin Pwee, e-deo.asia, retrieved 29 April 2013.
  2. ↑ Parliamentary General Election 2011 - Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, singapore-elections.com, retrieved 29 April 2013.
  3. ↑ Benjamin Pwee to be SPP's 2nd Asst Sec-Gen, AsiaOne, 13 May 2011.
  4. ↑ SPP's Pwee named 2nd assistant sec-general, sg.news.yahoo.com, 13 May 2011.
  5. ↑ Six members resign from opposition Singapore People's Party, AsiaOne, 28 January 2012.
  6. ↑ Benjamin Pwee joins DPP leadership as acting secretary-general, channelnewsasia.com, 14 January 2013.
  7. ↑ Mr Benjamin Pwee, bgst.edu.sg, retrieved 29 April 2013.