Wan Soon Bee

Wan Soon Bee
阮顺美
Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office
In office September 1983 – September 1985
Prime Minister	Lee Kuan Yew
Member of Parliament for West Coast GRC (West Coast)
In office 2 January 1997 – 18 October 2001
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	S. Iswaran (PAP)
Member of Parliament for Brickworks GRC (West Coast)
In office 21 August 1991 – 16 December 1996
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Member of Parliament for Pasir Panjang GRC (West Coast)
In office 3 September 1988 – 14 August 1991
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Member of Parliament for West Coast SMC
In office 22 December 1980 – 17 August 1988
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	1939 (age 85–86) Singapore, Straits Settlements
Political party	People's Action Party
Parent	Wan Hong Cheong (father)
Alma mater	University of Pisa

In this Chinese name, the family name is Wan.

Wan Soon Bee (Chinese: 阮顺美; pinyin: Ruǎn Shùnměi)[1] is a Singaporean former politician. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Coast Constituency, Pasir Panjang Group Representation Constituency (GRC), Brickworks GRC and West Coast GRC.

Early life and education

Born in 1939, Wan completed his pre-tertiary education at Raffles Institution[2] and later graduated with a doctorate electronics engineering from the University of Pisa, Italy.[3]

Political career

As he entered politics, Wan eventually became promoted to become political secretary of the People's Action Party from October 1982 to September 1983 and later became the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office from September 1983 to 1985.[1][3]

In the 1988 general election, Wan and his team contested in Pasir Panjang GRC gaining 61.57% of the cast votes in his first contested election and thereby defeating the only other fielded opposing party.

He has since retired from politics as of 2001.^[citation needed]

Other office positions held

Wan joined the National Trades Union Congress as deputy director for industrial relations in May 1981 and became deputy secretary general in August.[4] He would serve till 1987.[5]

Wan served as chairman of NTUC Comfort, and later the Comfort Group (1986-1998); was the first advisor to Union of Telecoms Employees of Singapore (1985-1992); the manager at Olivetti (Singapore) Private Limited (Apr 1970-Feb 1981); and the independent director of the Lian Beng Group till 2015.[6]

References

1. "Portrait of Dr. Wan Soon Bee, Minister of State for Prime Minister's Office - BookSG - National Library Board, Singapore". eresources.nlb.gov.sg.
2. "Members of Parliament and notable alumni of Raffles Institution, circa 1992 - BookSG - National Library Board, Singapore". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
3. "Dr Wan to head Straits Steamship's IT Division". The Straits Times. 27 September 1987. p. 15. Retrieved 4 August 2023 – via NewspaperSG.
4. "Dr Wan 'to quit NTUC post'". The Straits Times. 16 September 1987. p. 1. Retrieved 4 August 2023 – via NewspaperSG.
5. "WHO'S WHO..." Singapore Monitor (Afternoon ed.). 16 April 1985. p. 10. Retrieved 4 August 2023 – via NewspaperSG.
6. Lee, Jamie (10 July 2015). "Two Lian Beng independent directors resign over differences with board". Business Times. Retrieved 4 August 2023.