S. Dhanabalan

Suppiah Dhanabalan
சு. தனபாலன்
Minister for Trade and Industry
In office
1991–1993
Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong
Preceded by Lee Hsien Loong
Succeeded by Yeo Cheow Tong
Minister for National Development
In office
1986–1991
Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew
Goh Chok Tong
Preceded by Teh Cheang Wan
Succeeded by Richard Hu
Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office
1 June 1980  12 September 1988
Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew
Preceded by S. Rajaratnam
Succeeded by Wong Kan Seng
Member of Parliament for Toa Payoh GRC
(Kuo Chuan)
In office
1991–1997
Preceded by Wong Kan Seng
Succeeded by Constituency abolished
Member of Parliament for Kallang SMC
In office
1976–1991
Preceded by Abdul Aziz bin Karim
Succeeded by Constituency abolished
Majority 73.9%[1]
Personal details
Born (1936-08-08) 8 August 1936
Political party People's Action Party
Spouse(s) Christine Tan[2]
Children 2 [3]
Alma mater University of Malaya
Occupation Business executive

Suppiah Dhanabalan (born 8 August 1936), also known as S. Dhanabalan, DUT(First Class), is a former Singaporean politician. He was a high-profile political leader in Singapore in the 1980s and held several cabinet positions in the 1980s and early 1990s under prime ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong.

Early life and education

Dhanabalan was born in 1936 to a Singaporean Indian family of Tamil descent. He was raised as a Hindu by his father, Arumugam Suppiah, a clerical at a naval base. But later in his life he became a devout Christian (Brethren). His mother is Gunaretnam Suppiah. He went to Victoria School; and later to University of Malaya where he earned his B.A. degree in Economics, earning a Second Class Honours (Upper Division). He was the third child and the eldest son in a Tamil family of three girls and three boys.

Early career

He joined (Ministry of Finance) as an Administrative Officer from 1960–68. During his tenure, he helped to form the Economic Development Board and DBS Bank.

He subsequently left the Civil Service and joined DBS as a Vice-President from 1968–1970. He was promoted to the position of Executive Vice-President and continue to serve from 1970–1978.[4]

Political career

In the 1976 Singapore general election, Dhanabalan was elected as Member of Parliament for Kallang, as a People's Action Party (PAP) candidate. He was promoted to a Cabinet Minister and served in various portfolios, including Foreign Affairs, Culture, Community Development, National Development and Trade and Industry.[4]

When Lee Kuan Yew was preparing for his successor, he identified a handful of ministers he considered suitable for the job, including Tony Tan, Ong Teng Cheong, Goh Chok Tong and Dhanabalan.

In his public account of why he chose them and what he felt were their strengths and weaknesses, Lee said his preferred successor was Tony Tan, who went on to become the 7th President of the Republic of Singapore. He felt that while the other three were all of prime ministerial calibre, each had a particular weakness: Goh was too stiff, lacking eloquence in public speaking, and Ong was too closely aligned with the Chinese-speaking masses, lacking appeal to other communities. In the case of Dhanabalan, Lee felt the 76% ethnic Chinese electorate was not yet ready for a prime minister of Indian ethnicity. Lee left the ultimate decision to the second generation ministers themselves, who went on to choose Goh.

Timeline

Career after politics

Other contributions

Personal life

Dhanabalan is a devout Christian (Brethren) and attends a small church in Bukit Panjang – Bukit Panjang Gospel Chapel.[6] He is married to Christine Tan Khoon Hiap and they have one son, Ramesh Dhanabalan, and one daughter, Shandini Dhanabalan.[5]

References

  1. "Singapore Parliamentary General Election 1976". singapore-elections.com.
  2. "Up, up and up". The New Paper. 27 March 1999. p. 4.
  3. Doraisamy, S (6 July 1999). "From village boy to bank chairman". The New Paper. p. 20.
  4. 1 2 Teo XuanWei (23 July 2013). TODAY. Singapore. p. 2. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. 1 2 http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1727_2011-09-26.html
  6. "Graduates' Christian Fellowship via WaybackMachine". Archived from the original on 9 December 2004. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
Political offices
Preceded by
S. Rajaratnam
Minister for Foreign Affairs
1 June 1980 – 12 September 1988
Succeeded by
Wong Kan Seng
Preceded by
Ong Teng Cheong
Minister for Culture
1981–1984
Succeeded by
Yeo Ning Hong
Preceded by
?
Minister for Community Development
1984–1986
Succeeded by
Wong Kan Seng
Preceded by
Teh Cheang Wan
Minister for National Development
1986–1991
Succeeded by
Richard Hu Tsu Tau
Preceded by
Lee Hsien Loong
Minister for Trade and Industry
1991–1993
Succeeded by
?
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