SINGAPORE — Just days after retiring from Singapore’s Administrative Service, Professor Tan Chorh Chuan has taken on a new role at the heart of the country’s constitutional system, joining the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA) as an alternate member.
President Tharman Shanmugaratnam appointed the 67-year-old professor to the position effective Sept. 1, 2026, for a four-year term. According to the report by AsiaOne, Prof Tan was nominated by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong following consultations with Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and Public Service Commission Chairman Lee Tzu Yang.
The appointment came on the same day Prof Tan formally retired after more than four decades in Singapore’s public service.
A new role after four decades of public service
Prof Tan’s appointment marks a continuation of a career that has spanned medicine, public health, higher education, research and government policymaking.
Before his retirement, he served as Permanent Secretary for National Research and Development and Permanent Secretary for the Public Sector Science and Technology Policy and Plans Office in the Prime Minister’s Office.
Singapore’s Public Service Division said Prof Tan played a key role in strengthening the public sector’s science, technology and innovation capabilities. He helped shape the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2030 planning process and contributed to national initiatives involving research, artificial intelligence, data and computing capabilities.
He will also continue serving as non-executive chairman of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and chairman of the Ministry of Health’s Office for Healthcare Transformation.
From healthcare to national policymaking
Prof Tan’s public-sector career began long before his work in national research and innovation.
He served as Singapore’s Director of Medical Services from 2000 to 2004, a period that included the country’s response to the 2003 SARS outbreak. He later became deputy chairman of A*STAR and served as President of the National University of Singapore from 2008 to 2017.
From 2018 to 2023, he served as chief health scientist and executive director of the Ministry of Health’s Office for Healthcare Transformation before becoming its chairman.
His contributions have earned him several national honours, including the Meritorious Service Medal in 2015, the Distinguished Service Order in 2022 and the Public Service Star (COVID-19) in 2023.
Why the Council of Presidential Advisers matters
Prof Tan’s new appointment places him in an institution with an important constitutional role.
The Council of Presidential Advisers advises Singapore’s President when he exercises his custodial powers, including matters concerning the government’s past reserves and certain key public-service appointments.
Under Singapore’s Constitution, the President is required to consult the CPA when exercising these custodial powers. The council consists of eight members and two alternate members.
Alternate members can step in when required, making their positions an important part of the council’s structure.
Prof Tan now joins former Permanent Secretary Tan Ching Yee as the CPA’s two alternate members, according to AsiaOne’s report.
The timing is significant
The appointment also comes amid a broader refresh of the CPA.
In June 2026, President Tharman appointed Tan Chong Meng as chairman, replacing Eddie Teo, while Chua Sock Koong, Gan Seow Kee and Piyush Gupta took on or continued key roles. Tan Ching Yee was appointed an alternate member at that time.
The changes followed the completion of the terms of former chairman Eddie Teo and council member Lim Chee Onn.
Lim had served on the council for 18 years, including during periods when Singapore’s leadership considered major draws on the country’s past reserves, including during the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
A career that now enters another chapter
The latest appointment means Prof Tan’s retirement from the Administrative Service will not mark the end of his involvement in Singapore’s national institutions.
Instead, he moves from a senior executive role in government into a constitutional advisory position, while retaining leadership responsibilities in research and healthcare transformation.
His combination of experience in medicine, academia, public administration, research and national policy could bring a broad perspective to the CPA as Singapore continues to balance long-term fiscal safeguards with major investments in healthcare, technology, research and national development.
For a public servant whose career has crossed some of Singapore’s most important healthcare, education and innovation initiatives, the new appointment represents another significant chapter — this time in advising the country’s elected President on some of the most consequential constitutional responsibilities of the office.
WWC ONE MEDIA J.M.D
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