Ahmad Mattar

Ahmad bin Mohamed Mattar (born 13 August 1940) is a former Singaporean politician and academic who served as the inaugural Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs from 1977 and 1993 and Minister for the Environment from 1985 to 1993. A former member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leng Kee Constituency between 1972 and 1976, Brickworks Constituency between 1976 and 1988 and the Brickworks division of Brickworks Group Representation Constituency (GRC) between 1988 and 1996.

Early life and education Born in 1940 to an Arab Singaporean family, Mattar studied at Raffles Institution (RI) before graduating from the University of Singapore (now the National University of Singapore) with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in physics in 1963. He later obtained his Master of Science (MSc) at the University of Sheffield on a Colombo Plan scholarship and earned his Doctor of Science (DSc) at the University of Singapore.

Career Prior to entering politics, Mattar was a lecturer at Singapore Polytechnic (SP) and conducted the first large-scale study on the effects of traffic noise on housing estates in Singapore; the study would later inform future legislations and studies on traffic noise.

Political career During the early 1970s, Mattar was recruited by the PAP. On the recommendation of Abdul Rahim Ishak, incumbent MP for Siglap Constituency and younger brother of Yusof Ishak, the inaugural President of Singapore, he stood in Leng Kee Constituency during the 1972 general election and won. From 1977 to 1993, he served as the inaugural Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, a role created to strengthen understanding and improve relations between the Singaporean Malay–Muslim community and the government.

From 1985 to 1993, he served as the Minister for the Environment in the 7th and 8th Cabinets under Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. During his tenure, he was noted for tightening restrictions on the sale of aerosols containing chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), continuing the clean-up of the Singapore River and introducing the corrective work order (CWO) to combat littering through the public shaming of "litterbugs". Despite plans to resign from the Cabinet after the 1991 general election, he was persuaded by newly elected prime minister Goh Chok Tong, who succeeded Lee, to remain for a final term in his first Cabinet.

In 1993, Mattar resigned from the Cabinet; he remained a backbencher until his full retirement from politics at the 1997 general election. He has largely kept a low profile since.

Personal life Mattar is the uncle of Siti Alia Mattar, a Workers' Party (WP) candidate for Punggol GRC in the 2025 general election. The WP team lost to Gan Kim Yong and his PAP team with 44.83% of the vote.