{"id":2513,"date":"2021-06-01T18:26:22","date_gmt":"2021-06-01T10:26:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nus.edu.sg\/nusbulletin\/ay202526\/?page_id=2513"},"modified":"2026-02-26T17:27:39","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T09:27:39","slug":"the-chancellery","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.nus.edu.sg\/nusbulletin\/ay202526\/general-information\/about-nus\/the-chancellery\/","title":{"rendered":"The Chancellery"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\t\t\tGeneral Information\t<\/h2>\n

\n\t\t\tThe Chancellery\t<\/h3>\n\t

The President of the Republic of Singapore is the Chancellor of the University. The Chancellor holds the authority to confer degrees and presides at Commencement when present. The Chancellor may appoint such persons to be Pro-Chancellors as s\/he may consider proper. If for any reason the Chancellor is unable to exercise any of his functions, s\/he may authorise any of the Pro-Chancellors to exercise those functions on his behalf. There are currently six Pro-Chancellors appointed by the Chancellor.<\/p>\n\t

The Chancellor<\/strong><\/h4>\n

President Tharman Shanmugaratnam\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Tharman Shanmugaratnam\u00a0was elected as Singapore’s Ninth President in September 2023.<\/p>\n

He served in politics for 22 years before resigning to contest in the Presidential Election. He had been Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister for several years, and Education Minister earlier. He last served in government as Senior Minister. He also served as Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Singapore’s central bank and financial regulator, from 2011 to 2023.<\/p>\n

Tharman has been committed through his years to building a more inclusive society, as the basis for Singapore’s continuing economic resilience. He was especially engaged in efforts to sustain social mobility, improve jobs and retirement security for lower-income workers, and make life-long learning a reality for all. He has also sought to deepen and advance Singapore’s model of multiculturalism.<\/p>\n

He set in motion major educational reforms while serving as Education Minister over 2003-2008, aimed at achieving a broader and more flexible system of meritocracy. He also chaired the Economic Strategies Committee in 2009-2010 and subsequent tripartite councils which drove the national transition to productivity-driven growths, including through the implementation of industry-specific transformation programmes. He later led the national ‘SkillsFuture’ movement, launched in 2014. He also chaired the National Jobs Council aimed at rebuilding jobs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

In addition, Tharman chaired the Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute for over two decades, and the International Academic Advisory Panel which advises the government on strategies for university education from 2011 to 2023.<\/p>\n

Internationally, Tharman has led several high-level councils focused on global financial reforms, job creation, preparedness for future pandemics, and global water sustainability. He currently chairs the board of the Group of Thirty, an independent global council of economic and financial leaders from the public and private sectors and academia. He also co-chairs the High-Level Advisory Council on Jobs, established by the World Bank Group in July 2024. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum (WEF), an advisory board that helps shape the strategic directions of the WEF.<\/p>\n

Tharman led the IMF’s key policy forum, the International Monetary and Financial Committee, from 2011 to 2014, and was its first Asian chair. He also chaired the G20 Eminent Persons Group on Global Financial Governance in 2017-2018, and co-chaired the G20 High-Level Panel on financing pandemic preparedness and response in 2021. He recently co-chaired the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, which released its report in October 2024. He also co-chaired the Advisory Board for four successive editions of the UN’s Human Development Report, over 2018-2022.<\/p>\n

In 2025, Tharman was awarded the Miriam Pozen Prize by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Golub Center for Finance and Policy, in recognition of his leadership in international financial policy.<\/p>\n

Earlier, the Institute of International Finance awarded him its inaugural Distinguished Leadership and Service Award in 2019. He was also conferred an Honorary Fellowship by the London School of Economics in 2011.<\/p>\n

Following his schooling in Singapore, Tharman did a B.Sc. in Economics at the London School of Economics and an M.Phil. in Economics at the University of Cambridge. He later obtained a Master’s in Public Administration at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, where he was conferred the Lucius N Littauer Fellow award for outstanding performance and leadership potential.<\/p>\nTharman is married to Ms Jane Ittogi, a lawyer by background and actively engaged in social development and sustainability initiatives. They have a daughter and three sons.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\t

Pro-Chancellors<\/strong><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\tMr Gautam Banerjee<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tExpand<\/i><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mr Gautam Banerjee<\/strong> was appointed Pro-Chancellor of the University in 2019.<\/p>\n

Mr Gautam Banerjee currently serves as Chairman of Blackstone Singapore.<\/p>\n

Mr Banerjee was the Executive Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Singapore for 9 years until his retirement on 31 December 2012. He was also the Chief Operating Officer for PwC Eastern Cluster, which includes China, Australia, Japan, Korea and South East Asia and a member of the global firm’s Strategy Council. Mr Banerjee was elected Executive Chairman of PwC Singapore in 2004, and served as the interim Chairman of PwC India in 2009\/2010.<\/p>\n

Mr Banerjee joined PwC Singapore in April 1982 after qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in London and was admitted to the partnership in July 1989. He has led various business units in the firm, including its largest business unit, the Assurance practice.<\/p>\n

Mr Banerjee is a Term Trustee of Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) and a member of the ISAS Management Board. He has also served on the Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise Ltd, Defence Science & Technology Agency, Corporate Governance Council of the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Companies Act Reform Steering Committee.<\/p>\n

Currently, he serves on the Boards of Singapore Airlines Limited, Singapore Telecommunications Limited, and GIC Private Limited.<\/p>\n

Mr Banerjee was a Nominated Member of Parliament in Singapore from 2007 to 2009. He served as a member of the Economic Strategies Committee chaired by the Finance Minister of Singapore from 2009\/2010. He was awarded the Public Service Medal by the Singapore Government in 2014.<\/p>\n

Mr Banerjee is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Singapore. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Accounting and Financial Analysis from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom, and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) by the same university in 2014.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\tMr Chan Sek Keong<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tExpand<\/i><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mr Chan Sek Keong<\/strong>\u00a0was appointed Pro-Chancellor of the University in 2015.<\/p>\n

Mr Chan Sek Keong graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Malaya in Singapore in 1961. From 1962 to 1986, he worked at several law firms in Malaya and Singapore and was also a partner in Messrs Shook Lin & Bok, Kuala Lumpur.<\/p>\n

He was appointed as Singapore’s first Judicial Commissioner in 1986 and was subsequently appointed as a Judge in 1988. He became the first locally-qualified Attorney-General in 1992 and served in that capacity until 2006 when he was appointed as the Chief Justice of Singapore, a position he held until he retired in November 2012. He was a Senior Judge of the Supreme Court from 5 January 2015 to 4 January 2018.<\/p>\n

He was conferred the Distinguished Service Order (Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang) DUBC, Singapore in 1999 and (Darjah Utama Temasek) the Order of Temasek (2nd Class) in 2008.<\/p>\n

He is an honorary Doctor of Laws of the National University of Singapore and the Singapore Management University. He was the first local law graduate to be elected Honorary Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn in 2010. He joined the National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Law as its first Distinguished Fellow in October 2014.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\tMrs Theresa Foo<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tExpand<\/i><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mrs Theresa Foo<\/strong>\u00a0was appointed Pro-Chancellor of the University in 2019.<\/p>\n

Mrs Theresa Foo was the Founding Chairman of Singapore Business Federation Foundation where she worked closely with the business community to build an inclusive Singapore by encouraging, enabling and enhancing the contributions of business to the social, vocational and educational upliftment of Singaporeans in need of assistance.<\/p>\n

Mrs Foo was also the founding Chairman of Gardens by The Bay where she was instrumental in establishing a high standard of Corporate Governance to ensure that, as a registered charity, the Gardens is run and managed soundly and judiciously.<\/p>\n

Mrs Foo is a retired banker by profession, having had an illustrious banking career spanning over 40 years in the banking industry. She was Bank of America’s first female Vice President in Asia and later became the first female Chief Executive appointed by Standard Chartered in 1993. She was nominated as one of Euromoney’s Top 50 Women in Finance in 1997.<\/p>\n

Concurrent to her banking career, Mrs Foo has been deeply involved with the Arts and Heritage in Singapore. She is the immediate past Chairman of Esplanade Co Ltd where she helped with the building and growth of the national arts venue for 17 years. For her dedication to the arts and heritage in Singapore, she was named Champion of the Arts in 2001 and presented with the Friends of MCCY Award by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth in 2015. She was also recognised for her contributions to the Singapore community when she received the Public Service Star Medal in 2008 and the Meritorious Service Medal in 2014.<\/p>\n

Mrs Foo graduated from the Australian National University with a Bachelor of Arts degree.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\tProfessor S Jayakumar<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tExpand<\/i><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t

\"\"<\/p>\n

Professor S Jayakumar<\/strong> was appointed Pro-Chancellor of the University in 2020.<\/p>\n

Born in 1939, Professor S. Jayakumar was a Cabinet minister in Singapore for three decades (1981 – 2011), serving under three Singapore prime ministers, Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Chok Tong and Lee Hsien Loong. His portfolios included Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs, Law and Labour. He was also Coordinating Minister for National Security. He rose to become Deputy Prime Minister (2004) and Senior Minister (2009). He retired from politics in 2011. Before entering politics, he taught Law at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore (NUS), and was Dean of the Faculty (1974 – 1979). He also served as Permanent Representative to the United Nations (1971 – 1974).<\/p>\n

Currently, he is Senior Legal Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. He is also Emeritus Professor and Pro-Chancellor of NUS.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

AWARDS AND HONOURS<\/strong><\/p>\n

LOCAL AWARDS<\/strong><\/p>\n