Desmond Lee (Singaporean politician)

The Honourable

Desmond Lee Ti-Seng
The Honourable; Desmond Lee Ti-Seng
李智陞
	Desmond Lee in November 2017
Minister for National Development
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 27 July 2020
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Second Minister	Indranee Rajah
Preceded by	Lawrence Wong
Constituency	West Coast GRC
Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 27 July 2020
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Position established
Minister for Social and Family Development
	In office; 11 September 2017 – 26 July 2020
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Tan Chuan-Jin
Succeeded by	Masagos Zulkifli
Minister in the Prime Minister's Office
	In office; 1 May 2017 – 10 September 2017
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Second Minister for National Development
	In office; 1 May 2017 – 26 July 2020
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Minister	Lawrence Wong
Succeeded by	Indranee Rajah
Second Minister for Home Affairs
	In office; 1 May 2017 – 10 September 2017
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Minister	K. Shanmugam
Succeeded by	Josephine Teo
Senior Minister of State, ; Ministry for Home Affairs
	In office; 1 October 2015 – 30 April 2017
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Minister	K. Shanmugam
Senior Minister of State, ; Ministry for National Development
	In office; 1 October 2015 – 30 April 2017
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Minister	Lawrence Wong
Minister of State, ; Ministry for National Development
	In office; 1 September 2013 – 30 September 2015
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Minister	Khaw Boon Wan
Deputy Leader of the House
	In office; 1 October 2015 – 23 June 2020
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Leader	Grace Fu
Preceded by	Heng Chee How
Succeeded by	Zaqy Mohamad
Member of the Singapore Parliament; for West Coast GRC ; (Boon Lay)
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 10 July 2020
Preceded by	Patrick Tay
Majority	4,662 (3.36%)
Member of the Singapore Parliament; for Jurong GRC ; (Jurong Spring)
	In office; 7 May 2011 – 23 June 2020
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Shawn Huang Wei Zhong
Personal details
Born	15 July 1976 (age 45)
Citizenship	Singapore
Political party	People's Action Party (2011)
Children	3
Parents	Lee Yock Suan
Education	Anglo-Chinese School (Junior); Raffles Institution; Raffles Junior College
Alma mater	National University of Singapore; Oxford University
Profession	Lawyer Politician

Desmond Lee Ti-Seng (Chinese: 李智陞; pinyin: Lǐ Zhìshēng; born 15 July 1976) is Singaporean politician and lawyer. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) of West Coast GRC for Boon Lay since 10 July 2020 and was appointed as the Minister for National Development and Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Career[]

After graduating from the National University of Singapore in 2001, Lee, served as a law clerk to a Justice of the Supreme Court of Singapore, before being appointed a Deputy Public Prosecutor in the Criminal Justice Division of the Attorney-General's Chambers.

From 2005 to 2009, Lee served as Deputy Director of the Legal Branch at Singapore's Ministry of Health. He transferred to the Ministry of Law, where he served as Deputy Director of the Legal Policy Division until 2011.

In March 2011, Lee joined Temasek Holdings as an Associate Director in the Legal and Regulations Department.^[1]

Political career[]

At the 2011 general election, Lee stood as a PAP candidate in the Jurong Group Representation Constituency (GRC). The PAP's team of five candidates in the GRC was elected, defeating the team from the National Solidarity Party by 76,595 votes (66.96%) to 37,786 (33.07%).

Following his election to Parliament, Lee served as a member of the Government Parliamentary Committees for Culture, Community and Youth, Home Affairs and Law, and Social and Family Development.

On 1 September 2013, Lee was appointed Minister of State for National Development.^[2]

At the 2015 general election, Lee was re-elected as an MP for Jurong GRC. The PAP team in the GRC won 79.3% of the votes cast. Following the election, Lee was appointed Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development. He was also appointed the Deputy Leader of the House in the Singapore Parliament.

On 11 September 2017, Lee relinquished his role as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister in the Ministry of Home Affairs. He was appointed Minister for Social and Family Development. At the 2020 general election, Lee was re-elected as an MP for West Coast GRC (Boon Lay division). The PAP team won 51.69% of the votes cast in the GRC against the Progress Singapore Party led by former-PAP MP, Dr Tan Cheng Bock. On 25 July 2020, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that Lee will be relinquishing his role as Minister of Social and Family Development to succeed Lawrence Wong as Minister of National Development. Lee was also concurrently appointed Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration at Ministry of Social and Family Development.^[3]^[4]^[5]

He was elected as the People's Action Party Central Executive Committee Organising Secretary and to chair PAP Senior Group.

He served as the Minister for Social and Family Development from September 2017 to July 2020, Second Minister for National Development from May 2017 to July 2020, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs from May 2017 to September 2017, Senior Minister of State in the Ministry for Home Affairs and Ministry for National Development from October 2015 to his promotions to Second Minister in April 2017 and Minister of State in the Ministry for National Development from September 2013 to his promotion to Senior Minister of State in September 2015.

He also served as Deputy Leader of the House from October 2015 to June 2020. He has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Coast GRC for Boon Lay since July 2020. He was the MP for Jurong GRC for Jurong Spring from May 2011 to July 2020.

On 8 November 2020, Lee, along with Minister for Education, Lawrence Wong, were elected into the PAP's Central Executive Committee for the first time after performing in various roles during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[6]

Education[]

Lee had his early education at Anglo-Chinese Junior School, Raffles Institution and Raffles Junior College, before going on to complete a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degree at the National University of Singapore in 2001. In 2005, he completed a Masters degree (Bachelor of Civil Law) at University of Oxford.^[7]

Personal life and family[]

Lee is the son of Lee Yock Suan,^[8] who was a Member of Parliament from 1980 to 2006 and served in the Cabinet from 1987 to 2004.

Lee is married with three children.^[9] Lee is also a Southpaw (Left Handed).

References[]

^ MP Profile – Desmond Lee Ti-Seng Archived 2013-01-14 at the Wayback Machine, pap.org.sg, retrieved 4 August 2013.
^ PM Lee reinforces team as governance becomes "more complicated" Archived 2013-10-04 at the Wayback Machine, channelnewsasia.com, 28 August 2013.
^ "Desmond Lee: Youngest minister in current Cabinet to helm his first ministry". Archived from the original on 21 May 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
^ "GE2020: PAP wins West Coast GRC with 51.69% of votes against Tan Cheng Bock's Team".
^ "PM Lee announces new Cabinet; 6 office holders promoted, 3 retirements". CNA. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
^ Yuen, Sin; Lim, Min Zhang (8 November 2020). "PAP conference: Lawrence Wong, Desmond Lee elected to party's top committee for first time". The Straits Times. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
^ "Parliament of Singapore, Desmond Lee". Archived from the original on 13 October 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
^ Yes to evolution, no to revolution Archived 2015-08-06 at the Wayback Machine, My Paper, 24 March 2011.
^ "Mr Desmond Lee" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2019.

External links[]

Desmond Lee on Prime Minister's Office
Desmond Lee on Parliament of Singapore

Political offices
Preceded by Tan Chuan-Jin	Minister for Social and Family Development 2017 – 2020	Succeeded by Masagos Zulkifli
Preceded by Lawrence Wong	Minister for National Development 2020 – present	Incumbent
Parliament of Singapore
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Jurong GRC (Jurong Spring) 2011 – 2020	Succeeded by Shawn Huang Wei Zhong
Preceded by Patrick Tay Teck Guan	Member of Parliament for West Coast GRC (Boon Lay) 2020 – present	Incumbent

[1] MP Profile – Desmond Lee Ti-Seng Archived 2013-01-14 at the Wayback Machine, pap.org.sg, retrieved 4 August 2013.

[2] PM Lee reinforces team as governance becomes "more complicated" Archived 2013-10-04 at the Wayback Machine, channelnewsasia.com, 28 August 2013.

[3] "Desmond Lee: Youngest minister in current Cabinet to helm his first ministry". Archived from the original on 21 May 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2017.

[4] "GE2020: PAP wins West Coast GRC with 51.69% of votes against Tan Cheng Bock's Team".

[5] "PM Lee announces new Cabinet; 6 office holders promoted, 3 retirements". CNA. Retrieved 4 January 2021.

[6] Yuen, Sin; Lim, Min Zhang (8 November 2020). "PAP conference: Lawrence Wong, Desmond Lee elected to party's top committee for first time". The Straits Times. Retrieved 14 February 2021.

[7] "Parliament of Singapore, Desmond Lee". Archived from the original on 13 October 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.

[8] Yes to evolution, no to revolution Archived 2015-08-06 at the Wayback Machine, My Paper, 24 March 2011.

[9] "Mr Desmond Lee" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2019.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

show v t Current members of the Cabinet of Singapore
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Deputy Prime Minister(s)	Heng Swee Keat Economic Policies
Senior Minister(s)	Teo Chee Hean National Security Tharman Shanmugaratnam Social Policies
Cabinet Minister(s)	Ng Eng Hen Defence Vivian Balakrishnan Foreign Affairs/Smart Nation K. Shanmugam Home Affairs/Law Gan Kim Yong Trade and Industry S. Iswaran Transport/Trade Relations Grace Fu Sustainability and the Environment Chan Chun Sing Education Lawrence Wong Finance Masagos Zulkifli Social and Family Development/Muslim Affairs Ong Ye Kung Health Josephine Teo Communications and Information/Smart Nation/Cybersecurity Desmond Lee National Development/Social Services Integration Edwin Tong Culture, Community and Youth Tan See Leng Manpower Indranee Rajah Prime Minister's Office Maliki Osman Prime Minister's Office
Effective from 15 May 2021