SINGAPORE — Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who is also Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, received the Distinguished Leadership and Service Award on Friday (Oct 18) in recognition of his contributions to global financial governance and public service. 

The inaugural award is given by the Institute of International Finance (IIF), a global association made up of financial institutions based in the United States’ capital, Washington DC. 

Mr Tharman, who is chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said: “It is my privilege to receive this award from the IIF. It is to the credit of my colleagues at the Monetary Authority of Singapore and in the Singapore Government, and internationally, whom I have been working with to build resilient and growth-oriented financial markets.

“There is still much to be done to put in place the cooperative international networks and global financial reforms needed for more inclusive and sustainable growth.”

Apart from Mr Tharman, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney was the other recipient of the award. 

“Governor Carney and Senior Minister Tharman are two of the brightest and most capable people I’ve had the honor to work with. Both are world-class public servants, and even better, they are world-class people,” said IIF President and CEO Timothy D. Adams. “The success and stability of today’s international financial system would not be possible without their foresight and steady hands.”

Mr Adams described Mr Tharman as a “visionary” who has been a “leading proponent of global reforms to derisk and grow development finance, and to achieve more resilient capital flows”. “His ability to see around the corner and consider both the economic implications and the possibilities from a central banker’s lens provides a unique and highly valuable perspective in our ever-evolving and increasingly digital world,” Mr Adams added. 

On Mr Carney, Mr Adams said he has a “well-earned reputation, on both sides of the Atlantic, for being a thoughtful and pragmatic leader”. “His guidance has helped two major economies navigate perilous periods of uncertainty and economic strain, in turn helping to steady the course of the global economy. We have all benefitted from having Mark’s voice, wisdom, and spirit of service for the last decade," Mr Adams said. 

Mr Tharman has been in Washington DC since Tuesday for a six-day visit to receive the award and to attend the 2019 Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He was the chairman of the International Monetary and Financial Committee — a committee under IMF — from 2011 to 2015.

Previous news reports by the New York Times said that he was shortlisted to take over Ms Christine Lagarde as the managing director of IMF when she was nominated to be the president of the European Central Bank. 

In the end, it was Bulgarian economist Kristalina Georgieva who took over to lead IMF on Oct 1. 

Mr Tharman was appointed Senior Minister when there was a Cabinet reshuffle earlier this year. He relinquished the post of Deputy Prime Minister in May although he is still advising Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on economic policies.

As deputy chairman of the sovereign wealth fund GIC, he also assists PM Lee, who is chairman of GIC.