Masagos Zulkifli

The Honourable Masagos Zulkifli
ماسڬوس ذوالكفل
Masagos Zulkifli in 2021
Minister for Social and Family Development
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 July 2020
President	Halimah Yacob
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Desmond Lee
Constituency	Tampines GRC (Tampines West)
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources
In office 1 October 2015 – 26 July 2020
President	Tony Tan Halimah Yacob
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Vivian Balakrishnan
Succeeded by	Grace Fu as Minister for Sustainability and Environment
Constituency	Tampines GRC (Tampines West)
Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 May 2018
President	Halimah Yacob
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Yaacob Ibrahim
Constituency	Tampines GRC (Tampines West)
Minister in the Prime Minister's Office
In office 9 April 2015 – 30 September 2015 Serving with Lim Swee Say (Until 3 May 2015) Grace Fu, S. Iswaran and Chan Chun Sing (Until 30 September 2015)
President	Tony Tan
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Succeeded by	Josephine Teo (2017) Desmond Lee (Singaporean politician) (2017)
Constituency	Tampines GRC (Tampines West)
Second Minister for Health
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 July 2020
President	Halimah Yacob
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Minister	Gan Kim Yong (2020–2021) Ong Ye Kung (since 2021)
Preceded by	Position Established
Constituency	Tampines GRC (Tampines West)
Second Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office 9 April 2015 – 30 September 2015 Serving with Grace Fu Hai Yien
President	Tony Tan
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Minister	K Shanmugam
Preceded by	Position Established
Succeeded by	Josephine Teo (2017)
Constituency	Tampines GRC (Tampines West)
Second Minister for Home Affairs
In office 9 April 2015 – 30 September 2015 Serving with S. Iswaran
President	Tony Tan
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Minister	Teo Chee Hean
Preceded by	K. Shanmugam (2010)
Succeeded by	Desmond Lee (Singaporean politician) (2017)
Constituency	Tampines GRC (Tampines West)
Member of the Singapore Parliament for Tampines GRC (Tampines West)
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 May 2006
Preceded by	Yatiman Yusof (PAP)
Majority	46,742 (32.82%)
Personal details
Born	1963 Singapore
Political party	People's Action Party
Alma mater	Nanyang Technological University National University of Singapore University of Southern California

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Masagos Mohamad is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Masagos.

Masagos Zulkifli bin Masagos Mohamad (Jawi: ماسڬوس ذوالكفل; born 1963) is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as the Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for Health since 2020, and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs since 2018. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he is a Member of the 14th Parliament and has been representing the Tampines West ward of Tampines Group Representation Constituency (GRC) since 2006. Within the PAP Central Executive Committee, he holds the position of Party Vice Chairman, having assumed the post since 2018, taking over from former Minister Yaacob Ibrahim

Before joining politics, Masagos was an electrical engineer and had held key positions in Singtel. He made his debut in the political scene after winning the 2006 general election as part of a five-member PAP team contesting in Tampines GRC. Since then, he has won three subsequent elections and has held various positions in the ministries of Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs and Health. On 9 April 2015, Masagos was appointed Minister in the Prime Minister's Office. His appointment marked the first time in Singaporean history when there were two Malay ministers in the Cabinet. On 1 October 2015, Masagos took up the portfolio of Minister for Environment and Water Resources.

Background

Masagos was educated at Bukit Panjang Government High School and National Junior College before he went to Nanyang Technological University, where he graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor of Engineering (First Class Honours), majoring in electrical and electronic engineering. In 1994, he obtained a Master of Science in electrical engineering from the National University of Singapore. His first job was with Singtel in 1988. In 1995, he completed a Master of Business Administration at the University of Southern California on a postgraduate scholarship awarded by Singtel. He was later appointed Chief Executive Officer of SingTel Global Offices.

Political career

Masagos made his debut in politics in the 2006 general election when he contested as part of a five-member People's Action Party team in Tampines Group Representation Constituency (GRC). The PAP team won about 68% of the vote, and Masagos became a Member of Parliament representing the Tampines West ward of Tampines GRC. He was subsequently appointed Senior Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education on 2 June 2006, and concurrently Senior Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs on 1 April 2008. On 1 November 2010, he was promoted to Minister of State in these two ministries.

Masagos (back, second from left), then Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education, at a working lunch hosted by United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in The Pentagon on 17 October 2006. With him are (left to right) Singapore Embassy Defence Attaché Brigadier-General Richard Keng Yong Lim, Singapore Ambassador to the United States Chan Heng Chee, and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

Masagos was re-elected in Tampines GRC in the 2011 general election. On 21 May 2011, he was appointed Minister of State for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs. On 1 August 2012, he was promoted to Senior Minister of State in these two ministries.

On 9 April 2015, Masagos was promoted to the rank of full Minister but did not have a portfolio yet, so he was a Minister in the Prime Minister's Office. This was the first time in Singaporean history when there were two Malay ministers in the Cabinet, the other being Yaacob Ibrahim. Masagos was also promoted to Second Minister for Home Affairs and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, and was put in charge of leading the PAP team in Tampines GRC. On the same day, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that Masagos's elevation to full Minister reflected the "progress of the Malay community" in Singapore. Masagos also said that he was honoured to have been appointed and that "[h]aving two Malay full ministers in the Cabinet for the first time in our nation's history reflects the [Government's] trust and recognition of the good progress made by the Malay-Muslim community".

On 1 October 2015, Masagos took up the portfolio of Minister for Environment and Water Resources. From 1 May 2018, he was given an additional appointment as Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, taking over from Yaacob Ibrahim. On 27 July 2020, he changed his portfolio to Minister for Social and Family Development and took up an additional portfolio as Second Minister for Health, while concurrently holding the position of Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs.

External links

• Masagos Zulkifli on Prime Minister's Office
• Masagos Zulkifli on Parliament of Singapore