Geneva, Switzerland, 21 May 2019 – The World Economic Forum announced today that Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, Singapore, will join its Board of Trustees. Tharman’s lifelong career in public service, in which he has occupied senior positions in government, provides the World Economic Forum with valuable insight and experience at the highest level of governance.
Tharman was appointed Senior Minister in the Government of Singapore on 1 May 2019. He is also Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and advises the Prime Minister on economic policies. He is concurrently Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Singapore’s central bank and financial regulator. In addition to his government responsibilities, he is Deputy Chairman of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), where he is Chair of its Investment Strategies Committee.
On the international stage, Tharman serves as Chair of the Group of Thirty, an independent global council of economic and financial leaders. He chaired the G20 Eminent Persons Group on Global Financial Governance, which proposed reforms for a more effective system of global development finance and for financial stability. Between 2011 and 2014, he served as Chair of the International Monetary and Financial Committee, the key policy forum of the International Monetary Fund.
Tharman also chairs the Economic Development Board’s International Advisory Council, the International Academic Advisory Panel that advises the government on strategies for the university sector, as well as the Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute.
His career in public service included serving as Deputy Prime Minister for eight years, from 2011. He also led Singapore’s SkillsFuture programme, which was launched in 2014 to develop a system and culture of lifelong learning and upskilling in the country.
“The World Economic Forum, as the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation, is delighted to welcome Senior Minister Tharman to its Board of Trustees, further strengthening our political, economic and societal governance,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.
As of 21 May 2019, the members of the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum are:
Mukesh AMBANI, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries, India
Marc BENIOFF, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Salesforce, USA
Peter BRABECK-LETMATHE*, Vice-Chairman, Board of Trustees, World Economic Forum; Chairman of the Board, Nestlé SA, Switzerland
Mark CARNEY, Chairman, Financial Stability Board; Governor of the Bank of England
Chrystia FREELAND, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada
Orit GADIESH**, Chairman, Bain & Company, USA
Fabiola GIANOTTI, Director-General, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva
Al GORE, Vice-President of the United States (1993-2001); Chairman and Co-Founder, Generation Investment Management, USA
Herman GREF, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Sberbank, Russian Federation
Angel GURRÍA, Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Paris
André HOFFMANN, Vice-Chairman, Roche, Germany
Christine LAGARDE, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, Washington DC
Ursula von der LEYEN, Federal Minister of Defence of Germany
Jack MA, Executive Chairman, Alibaba Group, People’s Republic of China
Yo-Yo MA, Cellist
Peter MAURER, President, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Switzerland
Min ZHU*, Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (2011-2016)
Luis MORENO**, President, Inter-American Development Bank, Washington DC
H.M. Queen Rania AL ABDULLAH of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
L. Rafael REIF, President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA
David M. RUBENSTEIN, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Chairman, Carlyle Group, USA
Klaus SCHWAB*, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, World Economic Forum
Tharman SHANMUGARATNAM, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, Singapore
Jim Hagemann SNABE, Member of the Board, SAP AG, Siemens AG, Allianz SE, Germany
Heizo TAKENAKA**, Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy of Japan (2002-2006)
*Member of the Governing Board
**Member of the Audit & Risk Committee
The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. (www.weforum.org).