The Chancellery

General Information

The President of the Republic of Singapore is the Chancellor of the University. The Chancellor holds the authority to confer degrees and presides at Commencement when present. The Chancellor may appoint such persons to be Pro-Chancellors as s/he may consider proper. If for any reason the Chancellor is unable to exercise any of his functions, s/he may authorise any of the Pro-Chancellors to exercise those functions on his behalf. There are currently six Pro-Chancellors appointed by the Chancellor.

The Chancellor

President Tharman Shanmugaratnam

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam was elected as Singapore’s President in September 2023.

He served in politics for 22 years before resigning to contest in the Presidential Election. He was Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister for several years, and Education Minister earlier. He last served in government as Senior Minister. He also served as Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Singapore’s central bank and financial regulator, over the 12 years to 2023.

Mr Tharman was committed through his years in government to building economic resilience and a more inclusive society. He introduced major educational reforms while serving as Education Minister, to make for a broader and more flexible system of meritocracy. He later led the ‘SkillsFuture’ programme, aimed at enabling life-long learning for all. He has also promoted initiatives to deepen and advance Singapore’s model of multiculturalism.

He led tripartite councils from 2011 to 2016 which sought to improve jobs for lower-income workers and uplift productivity by promoting innovation and deeper skills, and the implementation of industry-specific transformation programmes. In addition, he chaired the Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institution for over two decades, and the International Academic Advisory Panel which advises the government on strategies for university education from 2011 to 2023.

Internationally, Mr Tharman has led several high level councils focused on global financial reforms, preparedness for future pandemics, education, and global water sustainability. In 2019, the Institute of International Finance awarded him its inaugural Distinguished Leadership and Service Award.

He currently chairs the board of the Group of Thirty, an independent global council of economic and financial leaders from the public and private sectors. He also co-chairs the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, as well as the Advisory Board for the UN’s Human Development Report. He is in addition on the World Economic Forum’s Board of Trustees, which advises the WEF on its strategic directions.

Following his schooling in Singapore, Mr Tharman did a B.Sc. in Economics at the London School of Economics and an M.Phil. in Economics at the University of Cambridge. He later obtained a Master’s in Public Administration at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, where he was conferred the Lucius N Littauer Fellow award for outstanding performance and leadership potential.

Mr Tharman is married to Ms Jane Ittogi, a lawyer by background and actively engaged in social development and sustainability initiatives. They have a daughter and three sons.

Pro-Chancellors

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Mr Gautam Banerjee

Mr Gautam Banerjee was appointed Pro-Chancellor of the University in 2019.
Mr Gautam Banerjee currently serves as Chairman of Blackstone Singapore, having joined the firm in 2013.

Mr Banerjee was the Executive Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Singapore for 9 years until 31 December 2012. He was also the Chief Operating Officer for PwC Eastern Cluster, which included China, Australia, Japan, Korea and South East Asia and a member of the global firm’s Strategy Council. Mr Banerjee was elected Executive Chairman of PwC Singapore in 2004, and served as the Chairman of PwC India in 2009/2010.

Mr Banerjee joined PwC Singapore in April 1982 after qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in London and was admitted to the partnership in July 1989. He has led various business units in the firm, including its largest business unit, the Assurance practice.

Mr Banerjee’s current roles include serving as a Term Trustee of Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA), and Chair of the Asia Advisory Board of the Conference Board (Singapore) Ltd. He served as Chairman of the Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise Ltd and a member of the Defence Science & Technology Agency. He has also served on the Corporate Governance Council of the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Companies Act Reform Steering Committee.

Currently, he serves on the Boards of Singapore Airlines Limited, Singapore Telecommunications Limited, and GIC Private Limited.

Mr Banerjee was a Nominated Member of Parliament in Singapore from 2007 to 2009. He served as a member of the Economic Strategies Committee chaired by the Finance Minister of Singapore from 2009/2010. He was awarded the Public Service Medal by the Singapore Government in 2014.

Mr Banerjee is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Singapore. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Accounting and Financial Analysis from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom, and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) by the same university in 2014.

Mr Chan Sek Keong

Mr Chan Sek Keong was appointed Pro-Chancellor of the University in 2015.

Mr Chan Sek Keong graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Malaya in Singapore in 1961. From 1962 to 1986, he worked at several law firms in Malaya and Singapore and was also a partner in Messrs Shook Lin & Bok, Kuala Lumpur.

He was appointed as Singapore's first Judicial Commissioner in 1986 and was subsequently appointed as a Judge in 1988. He became the first locally-qualified Attorney-General in 1992 and served in that capacity until 2006 when he was appointed as the Chief Justice of Singapore, a position he held until he retired in November 2012. He was a Senior Judge of the Supreme Court from 5 January 2015 to 4 January 2018.

He was conferred the Distinguished Service Order (Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang) DUBC, Singapore in 1999 and (Darjah Utama Temasek) the Order of Temasek (2nd Class) in 2008.

He is an honorary Doctor of Laws of the National University of Singapore and the Singapore Management University. He was the first local law graduate to be elected Honorary Bencher of Lincoln's Inn in 2010. He joined the National University of Singapore's Faculty of Law as its first Distinguished Fellow in October 2014.

Mrs Theresa Foo

Mrs Theresa Foo was appointed Pro-Chancellor of the University in 2019.

Mrs Theresa Foo was the Founding Chairman of Singapore Business Federation Foundation where she worked closely with the business community to build an inclusive Singapore by encouraging, enabling and enhancing the contributions of business to the social, vocational and educational upliftment of Singaporeans in need of assistance.

Mrs Foo was also the founding Chairman of Gardens by The Bay where she was instrumental in establishing a high standard of Corporate Governance to ensure that, as a registered charity, the Gardens is run and managed soundly and judiciously.

Mrs Foo is a retired banker by profession, having had an illustrious banking career spanning over 40 years in the banking industry. She was Bank of America’s first female Vice President in Asia and later became the first female Chief Executive appointed by Standard Chartered in 1993. She was nominated as one of Euromoney’s Top 50 Women in Finance in 1997.

Concurrent to her banking career, Mrs Foo has been deeply involved with the Arts and Heritage in Singapore. She is the immediate past Chairman of Esplanade Co Ltd where she helped with the building and growth of the national arts venue for 17 years. For her dedication to the arts and heritage in Singapore, she was named Champion of the Arts in 2001 and presented with the Friends of MCCY Award by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth in 2015. She was also recognised for her contributions to the Singapore community when she received the Public Service Star Medal in 2008 and the Meritorious Service Medal in 2014.

Mrs Foo graduated from the Australian National University with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Professor S Jayakumar

Professor S Jayakumar was appointed Pro-Chancellor of the University in 2020.
Born in 1939, Professor S. Jayakumar was a Cabinet minister in Singapore for three decades (1981 – 2011), serving under three Singapore prime ministers, Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Chok Tong and Lee Hsien Loong. His portfolios included Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs, Law and Labour. He was also Coordinating Minister for National Security. He rose to become Deputy Prime Minister (2004) and Senior Minister (2009). He retired from politics in 2011. Before entering politics, he taught Law at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore (NUS), and was Dean of the Faculty (1974 – 1979). He also served as Permanent Representative to the United Nations (1971 – 1974).

Currently, he is Senior Legal Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. He is also Emeritus Professor and Pro-Chancellor of NUS.

He was married to the late Dr Lalitha Rajahram and has a daughter, two sons and six grandchildren.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

The Public Service Star awarded by the Singapore Government (1980)
The Prathamabhron (Knight Grand Cross) of the Most Exalted Order of The White Elephant Award by Kingdom of Thailand (1994)
The Grand Cross of the Order of Bernardo O’Higgins by Chilean Government (1997)
Honorary Member, conferred by the Law Society of Singapore (2007)
Honorary Member for Life and Fellow for Life, conferred by Singapore Academy of Law (2008)
The Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, awarded by the Government of Japan (2011)
Outstanding Service Award, conferred by the National University of Singapore (2014)
The Order of Temasek (with High Distinction), awarded by the Singapore Government (2020)

Mr Po’ad Bin Shaik Abu Bakar Mattar

Mr Po’ad Bin Shaik Abu Bakar Mattar was appointed Pro-Chancellor of the University in 2012.

Mr Po’ad Bin Shaik Abu Bakar Mattar graduated with a Bachelor of Accountancy from the University of Singapore and holds a Master in Management from the Asian Institute of Management (Makati, Philippines). He is also a Chartered Accountant registered with the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants.

Between 1999 and to date, Mr Po’ad Mattar had served as a director of several listed and non-listed companies, including MediaCorp TV Singapore Private Limited (formerly Television Corporation of Singapore), member of the Ngee Ann Polytechnic Council, member of the Public Utilities Board and director of its wholly-owned subsidiary, PUB Consultants Private Limited, member of the Council of Presidential Advisers and member of the Public Service Commission. He has been awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (PJG), the Public Service Star (BBM), the Public Service Medal (PBM) and MUIS Distinguished Service Award.

Mr Teo Siong Seng

Mr Teo Siong Seng was appointed Pro-Chancellor of the University in 2019.

Mr Teo Siong Seng (Mr S.S. Teo) is the Executive Chairman of Pacific International Lines (PIL). Incorporated in Singapore in 1967, PIL is the largest home-grown carrier in Southeast Asia and is ranked 12th among the world’s top container shipping lines, with a fleet of around 100 container vessels. Its global network spans China, Asia, Africa, Middle East, Latin America, Oceania and the Pacific Islands.

Mr Teo is also the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PIL’s listed subsidiary in Hong Kong, Singamas Container Holdings Ltd, a leading container manufacturer and logistics service provider.

Mr Teo’s other appointments are as follows:

Immediate Past Chairman of the Singapore Business Federation (SBF)
Chairman, Singapore Business Federation – Internationalisation Action Committee (IAC)
Honorary President of Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Honorary Consul of The United Republic of Tanzania in Singapore
Joint Chairman of the Africa South East Asia Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Non-Executive and Non-Independent Director of Keppel Ltd.