Lim Hwee Hua

Lim-Tan Hwee Hua ( Tan; born 26 February 1959) is a Singaporean businesswoman and former politician. A former member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), Lim has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Serangoon division of Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency (GRC) between 1996 and 2006, and the same division in Aljunied GRC between 2006 and 2011.

Lim has served as Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for Transport concurrently between 2009 and 2011. She has served as served as Deputy Speaker of Parliament between 2002 and 2004, Senior Minister of State for Finance and Senior Minister of State for Transport concurrently between 2008 and 2009, and Minister of State for Finance and Minister of State for Transport concurrently between 2004 and 2008.

Early life and career Lim was educated at Raffles Institution,

Lim began her career as an administrative officer in the Ministry of Finance (MOF), Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Ministry of Law (MinLaw).

In 1989, she joined Swiss Bank Corporation as an investment analyst before moving on to Jardine Fleming in 1992, where she served as Head of Research and Director of Business Development.

In 2000, she joined Temasek Holdings as Managing Director of Corporate Stewardship and later, Managing Director of Strategic Relations. While she was at Temasek Holdings, she sat on boards including Port of Singapore Authority, Keppel Corporation and Mapletree.

Political career

Lim made her political debut in Marine Parade GRC at the 1997 general election as part of a six-member PAP team, which won in a walkover; she became the MP for the Serangoon division. In the 2001 general election, she remained in the GRC as part of a six-member team, experiencing a second walkover. From 1 April 2002 to 11 August 2004, she was the Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee. Lim was appointed the Minister of State for Finance and Transport on 12 August 2004.

At the 2006 general election, after her Serangoon division was shifted to Aljunied GRC, Lim contested in said GRC as part of a five-member PAP team; they defeated the Workers' Party (WP) with 56.09% of the vote. She was promoted to Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport on 1 April 2008.

On 1 April 2009, Lim become the first woman to serve in Singapore's Cabinet when she was made a Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for Transport.

Between 2002 and 2011, Lim was a member of the Central Executive Committee of the PAP, and the Chairman of the party's Women's Wing. She was inducted into the Singapore Council of Women's Organisation (SCWO) Hall of Fame on 31 March 2010, and she received the Her World Woman of the Year Award on 23 April 2010.

In the 2011 general election, Lim led the PAP team for Aljunied GRC alongside fellow minister George Yeo, but lost to the WP with 45.28% of the vote. She subsequently stepped down from the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the PAP and announced her retirement from politics, saying she was surprised by the depth of resentment felt by citizens towards the government.

Post-political career Following her retirement from politics, Lim was appointed Non-Executive Director at Jardine Cycle & Carriage in July 2011. In October 2011, Lim was appointed as a senior advisor at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. In November 2011, Lim was appointed Independent Non-Executive Director on the Global Advisory Council at Ernst & Young. She published a book, Government In Business: Friend Or Foe?, with the Straits Times Press in 2013. She had also served as Honorary Chairman of the Securities Investors Association Singapore between 2013 and 2017.

Personal life Lim grew up in family of nine children in Tiong Bahru. Her father was a tea merchant. Lim is married to Andy Lim, a partner and founder of Tembusu Partners, a private equity firm. They have a son and two daughters.