Richard Hu Tsu Tau(Chinese:Hồ ban nói;30 October 1926 – 8 September 2023) was a Singaporean politician who served asMinister for Financebetween 1985 and 2001. A member of the governingPeople's Action Party(PAP), he was theMember of Parliament(MP) forKreta Ayer SMCbetween 1984 and 1997, andKreta Ayer–Tanglin GRCbetween 1997 and 2001. Hu was Singapore's longest-serving finance minister and gave a record number of 16Budget speeches.He served as chairman of theMonetary Authority of Singaporebetween 1985 and 1997.
Richard Hu | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hồ ban nói | |||||||||||
 Hu in 1997 | |||||||||||
| Minister for Finance | |||||||||||
| In office 7 May 1985 – 9 November 2001 | |||||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||||
| Preceded by | Tony Tan | ||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Lee Hsien Loong | ||||||||||
| Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore | |||||||||||
| In office January 1985 – December 1997 | |||||||||||
| Prime Minister |
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| Preceded by | Goh Keng Swee | ||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Lee Hsien Loong | ||||||||||
| Minister for Health | |||||||||||
| In office 7 May 1985 – 31 December 1986 | |||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Lee Kuan Yew | ||||||||||
| Preceded by | Tony Tan | ||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Yeo Cheow Tong | ||||||||||
| Member of theSingapore Parliament forKreta Ayer–Tanglin GRC(Kreta Ayer) | |||||||||||
| In office 2 January 1997 – 18 October 2001 | |||||||||||
| Preceded by | Himself (Kreta Ayer SMC) | ||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished | ||||||||||
| Member of theSingapore Parliament for Kreta Ayer SMC | |||||||||||
| In office 22 December 1984 – 16 December 1996 | |||||||||||
| Preceded by | Goh Keng Swee | ||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Himself (Kreta Ayer–Tanglin GRC – Kreta Ayer) | ||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||
| Born | Richard Hu Tsu Tau 30 October 1926 Singapore, Straits Settlements,British Malaya | ||||||||||
| Died | 8 September 2023(aged 96) Singapore[citation needed][1] | ||||||||||
| Political party | People's Action Party | ||||||||||
| Spouse | Irene Tan Dee Leng | ||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||
| Parent |
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| Alma mater | |||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | Hồ ban nói | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | Hồ ban nói | ||||||||||
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Early life and education
editHu was born in Singapore toHu Tsai Kuen,a physician,[2]and Margaret Kwan Fu Shing. Through his father, he was related to the Singaporean American authorKevin Kwan.[3]
He was educated at theAnglo-Chinese Schoolbefore graduating from theUniversity of California, Berkeley,in 1952 with aBachelor of Sciencedegree inchemistry.He subsequently went on to complete aPhDinchemical engineeringat theUniversity of Birmingham.[4]
Career
editHu joined theRoyal Dutch ShellGroup of Companies in 1960 and rose to the position of chairman and chief executive in Singapore, where he served from 1977 to 1983.[5]In 1983, Hu was appointed managing director of theMonetary Authority of Singapore(MAS) andGovernment of Singapore Investment Corporation(GIC), where he served until 1984 concurrently.[6]He was chairman of theMonetary Authority of Singaporefrom 1985 to 1997.[7]
Hu made his political debut in the1984 general electionas aPeople's Action Party(PAP) candidate contesting inKreta Ayer SMCand won.[6][8]He was later appointedMinister for Healthin 1985, where he served until 1987. He was also Minister for Finance from 1985 to 2001.[9][10]He had also briefly served as Minister for National Development from 1992 to 1993.[2]
As Minister for Finance, Hu was known for his signature on the 'Ship' series of legal tender notes issued after his appointment.[11]He introduced theGoods and Services Tax(GST) in 1993.[6]As part of deregulation and reform of its financial and banking sectors, Hu oversaw the privatisation of the government-linkedPost Office Savings Bank(POSB) and the sale of POSB to theDevelopment Bank of Singapore(DBS) in 1998.[12]
On 13 April 2004, Hu was appointedCapitaLand's chairman of the board, where he served until his retirement in 2012.[13]He was also chairman of GIC Real Estate Pte Ltd[14]and Asia Financial Holdings Pte Ltd, and director of theGovernment of Singapore Investment Corporation(GIC)[15]and Buildfolio.Com.Inc. Hu served as thechancellorof theSingapore Management Universityfrom July 2002 to August 2010.[16]Hu retired from GIC in 2012.[17]In 2013, he was appointed senior advisor of theFraser and Neaveboard.[18]
Personal life
editHu was married to Irene Tan Dee Leng,[19]with whom he had two children.[20]He was ofHakkaChinese ancestry.
Hu died on 8 September 2023, at age 96.[21]
References
edit- ^Tan, Felicia."Former finance minister Richard Hu dies at 96".Retrieved8 September2023.
- ^abTay, 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".straitstimes.Retrieved8 December2022.
- ^Ho, Olivia (14 May 2017)."'I'm no crazy rich Asian', says author Kevin Kwan ".The Straits Times.Retrieved24 May2020.
- ^"Heng Swee Keat to present Budget 2016: Who were the finance ministers before him?".Straitstimes.4 March 2016.Retrieved26 September2017.
- ^"Management Team | Barghest Building Performance".Archived fromthe originalon 26 April 2014.Retrieved5 December2015.
- ^abc"Richard Hu, S'pore's longest-serving finance minister, dies at 96".The Straits Times.8 September 2023.ISSN0585-3923.Retrieved10 September2023.
- ^"Official Reports".Parliament of Singapore. Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2016.Retrieved5 December2015.
- ^Tesoro, Jose Manuel."SINGAPORE Keeping Up the Pace".Asiaweek.Retrieved5 December2015.
- ^"Finance Minister Bios".Mof.gov.Retrieved18 July2022.
- ^"Note Facts".The Singapore Mint.Archived fromthe originalon 8 December 2015.Retrieved5 December2015.
- ^"National Archives of Singapore".Nas.gov.sg.Retrieved5 December2015.
- ^"CapitaLand chairman Richard Hu to step down".Btinvest.sg.Retrieved10 June2015.
- ^"Richard Hu Tsu Tau Ph.D."Bloomberg News.Retrieved5 December2015.
- ^Lee, Meixian."Richard Hu to retire from GIC board".Forums.condosingapore.Retrieved5 December2015.
- ^"31 August 2010".Smu.edu.sg.Archivedfrom the original on 6 September 2010.Retrieved20 November2012.
- ^Lee, Meixian (2 November 2012). "Richard Hu to retire from GIC board".The Straits Times.p. 22.
- ^"F&N: Appoints Dr. Richard Hu As Senior Adviser To The Board".Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Business Times. 3 April 2013.Retrieved5 December2015.
- ^Who's who in Singapore, 2006.Kar Tiang Low, Who's Who Publishing (3rd ed.). Singapore: Who's Who Pub. 2006. p. 193.ISBN981-4062-02-2.OCLC62782476.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: others (link) - ^Migration (13 January 1985)."From the archives: Money man with a soft touch | The Straits Times".straitstimes.Retrieved8 December2022.
- ^Tan, Felicia."Former finance minister Richard Hu dies at 96".Retrieved8 September2023.