Sun Xueling

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The Honourable
Sun Xueling
孙雪玲
Minister of State,
Ministry for Education
Assumed office
27 July 2020
Serving with Gan Siow Huang
MinisterLawrence Wong
(2020–2021)
Chan Chun Sing
(since 2021)
Preceded byChee Hong Tat
ConstituencyPunggol West SMC
Minister of State,
Ministry for Social and Family Development
Assumed office
27 July 2020
MinisterMasagos Zulkifli
Preceded bySam Tan
ConstituencyPunggol West SMC
Senior Parliamentary Secretary,
Ministry for Home Affairs
In office
1 May 2018 – 26 July 2020
Serving with Amrin Amin
MinisterK. Shanmugam
ConstituencyPasir Ris–Punggol GRC
Senior Parliamentary Secretary,
Ministry for National Development
In office
1 May 2018 – 26 July 2020
MinisterLawrence Wong
ConstituencyPasir Ris–Punggol GRC
Member of the Singapore Parliament
for Punggol West SMC
Assumed office
10 July 2020
Preceded bySeat Created
Majority5,625 (21.94%)
Member of the Singapore Parliament
for Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC
(Punggol West)
In office
11 September 2015 – 23 June 2020
Preceded byJanil Puthucheary
Succeeded byPunggol West Seat Removed
Majority5,625 (21.94%)
Personal details
Born
Soon Sher Rene[1]

1979[2]
Singapore
Political partyPeople's Action Party
Children2
Alma materLondon School of Economics
National University of Singapore
In this Chinese name, the family name is Sun / Soon.

Sun Xueling (Chinese: 孙雪玲; pinyin: Sūn Xuělíng; born 1979),[2] also known as Soon Sher Rene,[1] is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Minister of State at the Ministries of Social and Family Development and Education since 2020. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), she has been a Member of the 14th Parliament representing the Punggol West Single Member Constituency (SMC) since 2020.[3]

Before entering politics, Sun had worked at the Economic Development Board, DBS Bank, Temasek International, Deutsche Bank AG and Macquarie Securities.[3] She made her political debut in the 2015 general election as part of a six-member PAP team contesting in Pasir Ris–Punggol Group Representation Constituency (GRC). After the PAP team won with 72.89% of the vote, Sun became a Member of Parliament representing the Punggol West ward of Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC. Starting in 2018, she served as Senior Parliament Secretary at the Ministries of Home Affairs and National Development. She won the 2020 general election as a solo PAP candidate in Punggol West SMC with 60.98% of the vote and continued representing Punggol West in Parliament. She was also promoted to Minister of State in 2020.[4][3]

Personal life and education[]

Sun was brought up mostly by her grandmother, who was widowed at 33 with six children as her parents were busy in full-time jobs. She grew up in a flat in Clementi with her younger sister before moving to Ang Mo Kio.[5] Having been encouraged by her grandmother to help the needy, she started volunteering in 2001[6][4][7] while she was still studying at the National University of Singapore, from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Social Sciences in economics. She later completed a Master of Science with merit in international political economy at the London School of Economics.[4][7]

Career[]

Civil career[]

Sun started her career in the Economic Development Board in 2003 before she joined DBS Bank as an Assistant Vice-President.[8] She was Director of Investment Groups at Temasek Holdings and had spent eight years based in Hong Kong and China working for as a Director for Deutsche Bank AG and as Senior Vice-President for Macquarie Securities. She was also the Chief Executive Officer of from 1 November 2015 to 20 May 2018.[3] [9][10][11]

Political career[]

Sun on a house visit in 2020

Sun was introduced by the People's Action Party (PAP) as a candidate contesting in Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC on 1 August 2015 in the lead-up to the 2015 general election. Before her candidacy was announced, she had been very active in grassroots activities in Buona Vista since 2001 and had been advocating women and mothers' rights.[4][7][12][13][14][15][16] During the campaigning period for the 2015 general election, Sun was the target of xenophobic comments online because her name, which is in hanyu pinyin,[5] misled people into thinking that she was a new Singaporean citizen originally from China.[17]

The PAP team contesting in Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC during the 2015 general election won with 72.89% of the vote against the Singapore Democratic Alliance, and Sun thus became a Member of Parliament representing the Punggol West ward of Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC.[18][19] On 1 May 2018, Sun was appointed Senior Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of National Development.[2] In 2019, Sun appeared in the fourth episode of the Channel 8 television series A Conversation with the Minister 2019.

During the 2020 general election, Sun contested as a solo PAP candidate in Punggol West SMC, which was previously part of Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC. She won with 60.98% of the vote against the Workers' Party's Tan Chen Chen, and continued serving as the Member of Parliament for Punggol West.[2] On 27 July 2020, she was promoted to Minister of State and appointed to the Ministry of Social and Family Development and Ministry of Education.[20] In 2021, Sun appeared with Grace Fu in a segment of the Channel 8 television series A Conversation with the Minister in the third and finale episode about health.

Personal life[]

Sun is married to an information technology entrepreneur who was born in Beijing but became a Singaporean citizen in 2009.[5] They have two daughters.[21]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Min, Chew Hui (August 22, 2015). "PAP introduces 2 new faces in Pasir Ris-Punggol team: Ex-defence chief Ng Chee Meng, Sun Xueling" – via The Straits Times.
  2. ^ a b c d "MP | Parliament of Singapore".
  3. ^ a b c d https://www.parliament.gov.sg/docs/default-source/default-document-library/cv-mos-sun-xueling_english-(11-aug-2020)28ae28dbcb5f64e2b198ff00006af031.pdf
  4. ^ a b c d Au-Yong, Rachel (23 August 2015). "A Singaporean born and bred". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 12 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  5. ^ a b c Lim, Jessica (9 September 2015). "GE2015: On the campaign trail with PAP's Sun Xueling". The Straits Times.
  6. ^ Chew, Hui Min (17 November 2016). "MP Sun Xueling gives birth to girl". The Straits Times. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  7. ^ a b c Lim, Jessica. "GE2015: On the campaign trail with PAP's Sun Xueling". Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  8. ^ "Sun Xue Ling" (PDF). PAP. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  9. ^ "Media Centre News Reports Article » Business China".
  10. ^ "Business as usual for CEO and mum of toddler". Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  11. ^ "Asia Briefs: ESM Goh in China for economic forum". Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  12. ^ "Parliament: Move to extend maintenance payments to some men a 'calibrated' measure". Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  13. ^ "Women MPs to help gather female views on key issues". Straits Times. 8 March 2016. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  14. ^ Teng, Amelia. "PAP's Women Wing to start discussions on women's perspectives and aspirations". Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  15. ^ "Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC: Temasek exec attends her 'first formal event'". Asiaone. 2 August 2016. Archived from the original on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  16. ^ "7 Things Spotted On The Campaign Trail, September 2 edition". Archived from the original on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  17. ^ "PAP's Sun Xueling is 100% Singaporean - Five Stars and a Moon". Five Stars and a Moon. 5 September 2015.
  18. ^ Toh, Yong Chuan. "New measures riding on SkillsFuture credits to be introduced". Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  19. ^ "Six months on the ground: New MPs on their political journey so far". Archived from the original on 19 March 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  20. ^ katherine_chen (2020-07-25). "PMO | Changes to Cabinet and Other Appointments (July 2020)". Prime Minister's Office Singapore. Archived from the original on 2020-07-25. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
  21. ^ Min, Chew Hui (17 November 2016). "MP Sun Xueling gives birth to girl". The Straits Times.

External links[]

Parliament of Singapore
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC
(Punggol West)
2015 – 2020 		Constituency redrawn
New constituency Member of Parliament
for Punggol West SMC
2020 – present 		Incumbent
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