Chairman, Public Service Commission, Dr Andrew Chew retires; Mr Eddie Teo appointed as new Chairman

Dr Andrew Chew Guan Khuan, 78, who has been Chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC) since 1998, will retire on 1 August, 2008. Mr Eddie Teo Chan Seng, 61, currently Deputy Chairman, PSC, will be appointed Chairman, PSC on the same date. 

Dr Andrew Chew

Dr Andrew Chew was appointed a member of the PSC in 1997, and became PSC Chairman in August 1998. Over the past 10 years, Dr Chew played a central role in bringing in top talent into the Public Service, and grooming and managing them. In this capacity, Dr Chew has been instrumental in the selection of PSC scholars as well as the appointment and promotion of key public sector leaders over the past decade.

 Under Dr Chew's leadership, the Commission introduced many initiatives to make the public service a more attractive career for talented young Singaporeans. The PSC scholarship programme, the primary means for attracting talent into the Civil Service was strengthened. The Management Associates Programme was introduced in 2002 to groom promising young men and women to be future Public Sector leaders of Singapore. The Civil Service Internship Programme for local undergraduates was expanded in 2006 to also include undergraduates studying in top overseas universities, to give them a taste of working life in the Civil Service. The PSC Mid-Term and Masters Scholarships were launched in 2007. These initiatives have kept the PSC scholarship programme attractive to outstanding students keen on a Civil Service career, and attracted other talented Singaporeans to consider a career in the Civil Service. 

 Prior to his appointment as PSC Chairman, Dr Chew served a 42-year career in the Public Service with great distinction in various positions, including as Head of Civil Service from 1984 to 1994. Dr Chew had also held appointments as Permanent Secretary (Health)/ Director of Medical Services, Permanent Secretary (Finance)(Public Service), Permanent Secretary (Prime Minister's Office). Upon his retirement from the Administrative Service in 1994, he was appointed Chairman of the Central Provident Fund Board until 1998.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, expressing his deep appreciation for Dr Chew's sterling service, said: "Your contributions to Singapore have been singularly outstanding. We have high-quality Singapore Public Service today which is admired across the world, because of the exacting standards placed on identifying, selecting and developing talent. It was my privilege to work closely with you, as the Minister-in-charge of the Civil Service, both when you were Head Civil Service and subsequently as Chairman PSC. You exemplify the best traditions of the Public Service and have done Singapore proud. I wish to thank you personally for the 52 years you have tirelessly put into public service and in particular your work as Chairman of the Public Service Commission over the last 10 years."

For his significant contributions to the Singapore Public Service, Dr Andrew Chew was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Gold) in 1975, the Meritorious Service Medal in 1994 and the Distinguished Service Order in 2002. 

 In addition to serving in the Public Service, Dr Chew holds many key appointments in other capacities. He is the Chairman of the Presidential Elections Committee and Member of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights. He is also Member of the Legal Service Commission, and the Directorship & Consultancy Appointments Council. Concurrently, Dr Chew is Chairman of the Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship, the Board of Governors of the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, the Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship Fund as well as the Dr Goh Keng Swee Scholarship Fund.

Mr Eddie Teo

 Mr Eddie Teo was appointed a Member and Deputy Chairman of the PSC from 17 March, 2008. Prior to that, he was Singapore's High Commissioner in Australia from February 2006 to March 2008.

 Mr Teo has had extensive experience in public administration, having held senior leadership positions in the Civil Service. He started his career in the Civil Service in the Security and Intelligence Division, Ministry of Defence, in 1970 after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University on a President's Scholarship. He obtained a Master of Science in International Relations from the University of London, United Kingdom in 1974.

 Mr Teo rose rapidly in the Intelligence Service to become the Director of the Security and Intelligence Division in 1979, and concurrently held the position of Director, Internal Security Department in the Ministry of Home Affairs from 1982 to 1986. He was appointed Permanent Secretary (Defence) in 1994. In 1998, he was appointed Permanent Secretary (Prime Minister's Office) and concurrently held the post of Permanent Secretary (Defence) until 2000. He retired from the Administrative Service in 2005 after 35 years of distinguished service in the Singapore Civil Service. 

 Mr Teo had also served as Director on various government-linked companies over the years, including those related to the defence industry. He was Chairman of Singapore Technologies Pte Ltd from 1995 to 2000 and ST Kinetics from 2001 to 2004. He was also Chairman of the Health Corporation of Singapore Pte Ltd from 1996 to 1998 and the Civil Service College from 2001 to 2005.

 For his contributions to the Singapore Public Service, Mr Teo was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Gold) in 1983, the Meritorious Service Medal in 1997 and the Distinguished Service Order in 2006.