Zainul Abidin (politician)

Zainul Abidin
Singapore Ambassador to the
State of Kuwait (non-resident)
Assumed office
27 October 2011
Preceded by Wong Kwok Pun[1]
Mayor of North East District
In office
24 November 2001 – 30 May 2009
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by Teo Ser Luck
Senior Minister of State,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
In office
30 May 2006 – 7 May 2011
Member of Parliament
for Aljunied GRC
(Eunos)
In office
25 October 2001 – 18 April 2011
Member of Parliament
for Cheng San GRC
(Punggol East)
In office
2 January 1997 – 18 October 2001
Personal details
Born (1948-03-17) 17 March 1948
Singapore
Nationality Singaporean
Political party People's Action Party
Alma mater National University of Singapore
Occupation Diplomat

Zainul Abidin bin Mohamed Rasheed (born 17 March 1948)[2] is a Singaporean diplomat and retired politician.[3] He is currently Singapore's Ambassador to the State of Kuwait (non-resident) and the Special Envoy of the Minister for Foreign Affairs to the Middle East.[4][5]

Prior to his retirement from politics, he served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (Aljunied GRC) from 2001 to 2011.

Education

Zainul Abidin attended Jalan Daud Primary School, followed by Raffles Institution and then the National University of Singapore, where he read economics. He was awarded the Gold Outstanding Young Singaporean Award in 1974.

Career

Zainul Abidin worked for a long time in Singapore Press Holdings (Asia News Bulletin, The Sunday Times, The Straits Times, Berita Harian) before being seconded to the government sector, to Mendaki (1990 - 1993) and Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) (1991-1996).

He has held various appointments, among them being:

He first stood for the 1997 Singapore general elections under the People's Action Party (PAP) under Cheng San Group Representation Constituency (Cheng San GRC), against the Workers' Party (WP), whose notable candidates were J. B. Jeyaratnam and Tang Liang Hong. The PAP won that constituency.

Zainul Abidin later moved to Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (Aljunied GRC) for the 2001 general elections. In the 2006 general elections, the PAP contested Aljunied GRC against the WP. The PAP garnered 56.09% of the votes in this GRC.

He was appointed Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1998 - 2001. He also held the post of Mayor of the Northeast Community Development Council from 2001 to 2008. He was then appointed Minister of State for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2004 and given a Senior Minister of State role in 2006.

In the 2011 general elections, Zainul Abidin was part of the PAP team which lost Aljunied GRC to the WP.

Personal life

Zainul Abidin is married with four children.

References

  1. ↑ "MFA Press Statement : Appointment of Singapore's Ambassador to The State of Israel, Singapore's Ambassador to The State of Kuwait and Singapore's Ambassador to The State of Qatar" (Press release). Singapore: Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 28 December 2005. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  2. ↑ Curriculum Vitae. www.parliament.gov.sg, 1 June 2009. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  3. ↑ Teo, Wan Gek (10 September 2011). "Possible second advisers for Aljunied grassroots". The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings.
  4. ↑ "MFA Press Statement: Appointment of Singapore's Non-Resident Ambassador to the State of Kuwait" (Press release). Singapore: Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 27 October 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  5. ↑ "MFA Press Statement: Singapore’s Representation at the Inauguration Ceremony Marking the Opening of the New Expanded Suez Canal, Egypt, 6 August 2015" (Press release). Singapore: Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
Diplomatic posts
Unknown
Last known title holder:
Wong Kwok Pun		 Singapore Ambassador to the State of Kuwait
27 October – present
(Non-resident) 		Incumbent
Government offices
New office Mayor of North East District
24 November 2001 – 30 May 2009 		Succeeded by
Teo Ser Luck
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