Monday, October 02, 2006

Ong Teng Cheong & Ling Siew May

Mr Ong Teng Cheong 王鼎昌 (1936 - 2002) & Mrs Ong-Ling Siew May 林秀梅 (1937 - 1999)

Biography of Mr Ong Teng Cheong (The 1st Elected President of Singapore)

1936 - Mr Ong Teng Cheong was born in Singapore on 22 January (second eldest of 5 children)

1946 - Enrolled in Zhong Zheng Primary School, completed primary education in 1949

1950 - Enrolled in Chinese High School, graduated in 1955

1953 - Met Madam Ling Siew May during a joint activity between Chinese High School and Nanyang Girls' School

1956 - Went overseas to Australia to pursue a degree in architecture

1961 - Graduated from University of Adelaide with Bachelor of Architecture degree

1962 - Started career as an architect (in Australia), and later joined Singapore Civil Service as a town planner

1963 - Married Madam Ling Siew May

1965 - Offered a Colombo Scholarship (Master's)

1966 - Birth of Tze Guan, eldest son of Mr and Mrs Ong, in Liverpool

1967 - Graduated from University of Liverpool with Masters in Civic Design (Town Planning)

1967 - Joined the Ministry of National Development (Planning Department)

1968 - Birth of Tze Boon, second son of Mr and Mrs Ong, in Singapore

1971 - Left the Civil Service and started his own practice

1972 - Established Ong & Ong Architects and Town Planner, together with his wife, Mrs Ong-Ling Siew May

1972 - Contested in General Election in Kim Keat and won. Member-of-Parliament (MP) until Aug 1993 (contested in a total of 6 general elections)

1975 - Appointed as Senior Minister of State for Communications. Subsequently also appointed as Acting Minister of Culture (1977), Minister for Communications (1978) and Minister of Labour (1981)

1981 - Appointed as Chairman of People's Action Party (PAP)

1983 - Appointed as NTUC Secretary-General (until 1993) and appointed as Minister without Portfolio.

1985 - Appointed as Second Deputy Prime Minister in January (until Nov 1990)

1990 - Appointed as Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) in November (until Aug 1993)

1993 - Resigned as DPM, MP and PAP Chairman to contest in Presidential Election in August

1993 - Became Singapore's first Elected President on 1 September (until 31 Aug 1999)

1994 - Conferred the labour movement's highest award: The Distinguished Comrade of Labour on 1 May. His citation read: "In the decade that he was NTUC Secretary-General, Mr Ong Teng Cheong transformed the labour movement's dreams, and his own aspirations for workers, into reality - for the benefit of the working people in Singapore"

1998 - Conferred one of Britain's highest honours: The Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George, by Queen Elizabeth II, in July.

1998 - Received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Liverpool.

1999 - His wife, Mrs Ong-Ling Siew May, passes away on 30 July, age 62

1999 - Completed the 6-year Presidency term on 31 August

2002 - Mr Ong Teng Cheong passes away on 8 February, age 66

For more information, love stories of Mr Ong and Mrs Ong, please proceed to -> http://www.ongtengcheong.com/index.htm

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