Ong_Teng_Cheong

Ong Teng Cheong (Chinese: 王鼎昌; 22 January 1936 – 8 February 2002) was a Singaporean statesman, architect and union leader who served as the fifth president of Singapore from 1993 to 1999. He was the first president to be directly elected in a popular vote in Singapore's history after winning the 1993 presidential election.Prior to his presidency, he was a member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP). Ong served as Chairman of the PAP between 1981 and 1993, after Toh Chin Chye stepped down from the position in 1981. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kim Keat SMC between 1972 and 1991 and the Kim Keat division of Toa Payoh GRC between 1991 and 1993, when the constituency was absorbed into the GRC. His ministerial positions include Minister for Communications between 1978 and 1981, Minister for Labour between 1981 and 1983, and Deputy Prime Minister between 1985 and 1993.
During his tenure in Parliament, Ong was known for being the main advocate behind the construction of an extensive rail network in the country, known as the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), the largest construction project in Singapore's history.
In 1993, Ong resigned from the PAP and his ministerial positions to contest in the 1993 presidential election, winning 58.7% of the vote. Ong was nicknamed the "People's President". He was sworn on 1 September 1993 as the fifth president of Singapore. He decided not to run for a second term as president in 1999, in part due to the death of his wife. He was succeeded by S. R. Nathan on 1 September 1999. Ong died in his sleep from lymphoma at the Singapore General Hospital on 8 February 2002, at the age of 66.