Richard Hu

Richard Hu Tsu Tau (30 October 1926 – 7 September 2023) was a Singaporean politician who served as Minister for Finance between 1985 and 2001. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kreta Ayer SMC between 1984 and 1997, and Kreta Ayer–Tanglin GRC between 1997 and 2001. Hu was Singapore's longest-serving finance minister and gave a record number of 16 Budget speeches. He served as chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore between 1985 and 1997.

Early life and education
Hu was born in Singapore to Hu Tsai Kuen, a physician, and Margaret Kwan Fu Shing. Through his father, he was related to the Singaporean American author Kevin Kwan.

He was educated at the Anglo-Chinese School before graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1952 with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry. He subsequently went on to complete a PhD in chemical engineering at the University of Birmingham.

Career
Hu joined the Royal Dutch Shell Group of Companies in 1960 and rose to the position of chairman and chief executive in Singapore, where he served from 1977 to 1983. In 1983, Hu was appointed managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), where he served until 1984 concurrently. He was chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore from 1985 to 1997.

Hu made his political debut in the 1984 general election as a People's Action Party (PAP) candidate contesting in Kreta Ayer SMC and won. He was later appointed Minister for Health in 1985, where he served until 1987. He was also Minister for Finance from 1985 to 2001. He had also briefly served as Minister for National Development from 1992 to 1993.

As Minister for Finance, Hu was known for his signature on the 'Ship' series of legal tender notes issued after his appointment. He introduced the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 1993. As part of deregulation and reform of its financial and banking sectors, Hu oversaw the privatisation of the government-linked Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) and the sale of POSB to the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) in 1998.

On 13 April 2004, Hu was appointed CapitaLand's chairman of the board, where he served until his retirement in 2012. He was also chairman of GIC Real Estate Pte Ltd and Asia Financial Holdings Pte Ltd, and director of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) and Buildfolio.Com.Inc. Hu served as the chancellor of the Singapore Management University from July 2002 to August 2010. Hu retired from GIC in 2012. In 2013, he was appointed senior advisor of the Fraser and Neave board.

Personal life
Hu was married to Irene Tan Dee Leng, with whom he had two children. He was of Hakka Chinese ancestry.

Hu died on 8 September 2023, at age 96.