Ong Ye Kung & Ng Chee Meng among fastest-rising politicians in recent history

13 months was all they took to be promoted.

Martino Tan | October 28, 2016, 05:42 PM

Step aside Chan Chun Sing.

Ong Ye Kung and Ng Chee Meng are now among the fastest-rising politicians in Singapore's recent history.

According to the statement by the Prime Minister's Office, both Ong and Ng will be promoted to full ministers with effect from Nov. 1, 2016.

Ong will be Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) and concurrently second Minister in the Ministry of Defence, while Ng will be Minister for Education (Schools) and concurrently second Minister in the Ministry of Transport.

How fast are Ong and Ng's promotions?

Both Ong and Ng were appointed as Acting Minister on Oct. 1 last year, when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced his new Cabinet following the General Election.

Which means it took Ong and Ng exactly 13 months to be promoted to full Minister.

This short duration beats Minister Chan Chun Sing's record, who was considered by the Straits Times to be among the fastest-rising. Chan took slightly more than two years to be promoted as full Minister.

Looks like Chan is happy to hand over his "record" to both Ong and Ng.

Promotion comparisons with the six potential PMs

Heng Swee Keat: He was appointed immediately as full Minister (Education Minister) in May 2011.

Time taken to be promoted as Minister after entering politics: 0.

Age as full Minister: 49 years old

Chan Chun Sing: He was appointed full Minister (Social and Family Development) in August 2013

Time taken to be promoted as Minister after entering politics: 2 years and 3 months.

Age as full Minister: 44 years old

Tan Chuan-Jin: He was appointed full Minister (Manpower) in May 2014.

Time taken to be promoted as Minister after entering politics: 3 years

Age as full Minister: 45 years old

Lawrence Wong: He was appointed full Minister (Culture, Community and Youth) in May 2014.

Time taken to be promoted as Minister after entering politics: 3 years

Age as full Minister: 41 years old

Ong Ye Kung: He will be appointed full Minister (Education, Higher Education and Skills) in Nov 2016.

Time taken to be promoted as Minister after entering politics: 1 year 1 month

Age as full Minister: 46 years old

Ng Chee Meng: He will be appointed full Minister (Education, Schools) in Nov 2016.

Time taken to be promoted as Minister after entering politics: 1 year 1 month

Age as full Minister: 48 years old

By the way, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam took two years and eight months to become a full Minister after entering politics.

PM Lee took almost two years to be promoted as full Minister after entering politics.

This means four out of the six potential PMs were promoted in a shorter time span than DPM Tharman after they enter politics.

It looks like the leadership renewal for the fourth generation is getting more urgent.

 

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