Former transport minister Lui Tuck Yew has been appointed Singapore's ambassador to China.

The appointment was announced by President Halimah Yacob on a Facebook and confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release on Thursday, Oct. 31.

President Halimah said that she had presented a letter of credence to Lui.

"I am confident that he will carry out his duties well," she added.

Lui had previously served as Singapore's ambassador to Japan from June 2017 to October 2019 before being replaced by Peter Tan.

At slightly over two years, Lui's stint as ambassador to Japan was the shortest compared to the past five ambassadors before him.

Prior to that, Lui was Minister for Transport from 2011 to 2015, and concurrently Second Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2011 to 2012, and Second Minister for Defence in 2015.

Lui will be replacing Stanley Loh Ka Leung, who has been Singapore's ambassador to China since March 12, 2015.

Educational qualifications

Lui, who says he enjoys travelling, reading cricket, baseball and American football, was a Singapore Armed Forces (Overseas) scholar.

He graduated with a degree in Chemistry from Trinity College, University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom in 1983.

In 1993, he obtained a Master of Arts in International Relations from the Fletcher School, Tufts University in the United States.

In addition, he attended the Command Course at the Naval War College in Newport Rhode Island in 1996.

Prior to rising to the position of Chief of Navy in 1999, he served in the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN).

List of ambassadors to China

Since formal diplomatic relations were established between Singapore and China in 1990, Singapore has had three ambassadors serve in the Chinese Embassy.

1. Cheng Tong Fatt (July 1991 to 1998)
2. Chin Siat Yoon (February 1998 to March 2012) 
3. Stanley Loh Ka Leung (March 2012 to October 2019)

Top image courtesy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs