George Yeo
George Yong- Boon Yeo (* September 13 1954 in Singapore) is a brigadier general and politician from Singapore.
Biography
Studies and promotion to brigadier general
After attending primary and secondary school St. Patrick's, St. Stephen's and St. Joseph's Institution, where he graduated in 1970 as valedictorian, he received a scholarship of the President, as well as 1973, the Singapore Armed Forces ( SAF), providing him with a degree in engineering enabled at Cambridge University. During his studies, he was president of the Association of Students of Malaysia and Singapore at Cambridge University. In 1976 he finished his studies with honors.
Upon his return to Singapore, he joined the SAF and initially served as a signal officer. In 1979 he graduated from the course at the Military Academy ( Command and Staff College), he also graduated as valedictorian. He then joined the Air Force, where he became head of the planning department was later. In 1983, he began postgraduate studies in business administration at Harvard Business School, he with a Masters in Business Administration ( MBA) graduated in 1985 with honors. After his return in 1985 he was first chief of staff of the Air Force before he was appointed Director of Joint Operations and Planning in the Ministry of Defence in 1986. In 1988 he was promoted to brigadier general and at the same time in August 1988 his retirement from the armed forces.
Political career and climb to the Secretary of State
Immediately thereafter, he began on September 3, 1988 his political career with election to the Parliament as a candidate of the Aljunied Group Represantation Constituency (GRC ), a group within the ruling party People's Action Party (PAP). Immediately afterwards he was on 13 September 1988 Minister of State for Finance and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Lee Kuan Yew and held that post until the end of Lee Kuan Yew's term of office on 27 November 1990. Lee Kuan Yew's successor Goh Chok Tong called him afterwards for the current Minister of Information and Arts, and Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
In the parliamentary elections in 1991, he was elected as representative of the Aljunied GRC unopposed again for the Members of Parliament. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed on 1 July 1991 by Goh Chok Tong to Minister for Information and the Arts and the Second Minister for Foreign Affairs and confirmed in these offices also on September 7, 1991 On January 2, 1994, he was the office of the Second Minister of Foreign Affairs from and took over maintaining the Minister Office of Information and Arts, the Office of the Minister of Health. Between 1991 and 2000 he is also the chairman of the youth organization of the People's Action Party ( PAP Young ).
After the general election of 25 January 1997, he was from the office of the Minister of Health and was also next to the post of Minister for Information and the Arts also Second Minister for Trade and Industry. On June 3, 1999, he gave up the post of Minister for Information and the Arts, and was instead Minister of Trade and Industry.
In the general elections of November 2001 he was re-elected as representatives of the Aljunied GRC to the Members of Parliament and, in turn, appointed Minister of Trade and Industry in the Government of Goh Chok Tong.
On 12 August 2004 took over after the inauguration of the new Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the Office of the Minister for Foreign Affairs. In the elections of May 2006, he was again elected as representatives of Aljunied GRC to the Members of Parliament and subsequently confirmed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in the office of Foreign Minister.
2007, he served as foreign minister also regular intervals Chairman of the Council of Ministers of ASEAN and was in this capacity in September 2007 at the United Nations in New York City an opinion on the situation in Myanmar after violently suppressed demonstrations and called representative of the ASEAN, the release of all political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi. In an interview with the Washington Times, he said, in addition to the relations between the U.S. and Singapore, also on the fight against international terrorism.