Lawrence Wong Shyun Tsai (; born 18 December 1972) is a Singaporean politician, economist and former civil servant who has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore since 2022, Minister for Finance since 2021, Deputy Secretary-General of the People's Action Party since 2022, and Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore since 2023. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Limbang division of Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC since 2015, and previously the Boon Lay division of West Coast GRC between 2011 and 2015.
Prior to entering politics, Wong worked at the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Ministry of Health (MOH). He was Principal Private Secretary to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong between 2005 and 2008. He also served as the chief executive officer of the Energy Market Authority (EMA) between 2009 and 2011.
Wong made his political debut in the 2011 general election when he contested in West Coast GRC as part of a five-member PAP team and won. Afterwards, he moved constituencies and contested at Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC in the 2015 general election, retaining his seat in the 2020 general election. On the ministerial level, he served as Minister for Culture, Community and Youth between 2012 and 2015, Second Minister of Communications and Information between 2014 and 2015, Minister for National Development between 2015 and 2020, Second Minister of Finance between 2016 and 2021, and Minister for Education between 2020 and 2021.
Wong was co-chair of a multi-ministerial committee set up by the government in January 2020 to manage the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore. As Minister for Finance, he has overseen the gradual increase in Goods and Services Tax (GST) which Lee's government has advocated for – 8% in 2023 and 9% in 2024, up from 7% which had been set since 2007. In April 2022, he was chosen as the leader of the PAP's fourth generation team, placing him in line as Lee's apparent successor. Wong assumed the office of Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore on 13 June 2022, serving alongside Heng Swee Keat. On 26 November 2022, Wong was appointed to the newly created position of Deputy Secretary-General of the People's Action Party.
On 3 July 2023, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced that Wong will be appointed Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on 8 July 2023. Wong was previously already the Deputy Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) between 2021 and 2023. He was also appointed Chairman of the Investment Strategies Committee of GIC, and Chairman of the International Advisory Council (IAC) of the Economic Development Board (EDB) since 7 July 2023 and 8 July 2023 respectively.
Wong was appointed deputy chairman of GIC's board of directors since Oct 1. He has been a GIC director since Nov 1, 2018, and has also been serving as the chairman of its Investment Strategies Committee since Jul 7 this year after Tharman Shanmugaratnam announced that he would step down to run for the 2023 presidential election.
Early life and education
Wong was born on 18 December 1972 in the eastern part of Singapore. He is an ethnic Singaporean Chinese of Hainanese descent and was raised in the Methodist denomination of Christianity. Growing up, Wong and his family lived in a public Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat in Marine Parade. Wong's father worked as a sales executive while his mother was a teacher at his primary school.
Wong attended Haig Boys' Primary School (now Tanjong Katong Primary School), Tanjong Katong Technical School (now Tanjong Katong Secondary School), and Victoria Junior College before going to college.
Wong received a Bachelor of Science with a major in economics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1994 under the Public Service Commission scholarship. He received a Master of Arts in applied economics from the University of Michigan in 1995 and a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University in 2004.
Civil service career
Wong began his career as an economist working in the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) in August 1997. It was the beginning of the 1997 Asian financial crisis and his first assignment involved preparing a report on regional economies and their effects on Singapore; he described the experience as "nothing that I learned in school prepared me for such an assignment" and recounted having to learn on the job.