Chan served in the Singapore Army from 1987 to 2011. His appointments included Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment, Army Attaché in Jakarta, Commander of the 10th Singapore Infantry Brigade, Head of the Joint Plans and Transformation Department, Commander of the 9th Division / Chief Infantry Officer, and Chief of Staff – Joint Staff. Chan excelled as a student at the US Army Command and General Staff College in 1998, and was the first foreign student to be conferred the "Distinguished Master Strategist Award" in the same year. Chan was appointed the Chief of Army on 26 March 2010. He left the Singapore Armed Forces on 25 March 2011 in order to stand for Parliament.
Early political career
Chan was a PAP candidate in the Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency at the 2011 general election, representing the Buona Vista ward previously held by Lim Swee Say. The PAP's team in the constituency was led by former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, and was declared elected on Nomination Day in a walkover. During the election campaign, Chan used the Hokkien phrase "kee chiu" at a rally to engage the crowd, and the term became a well-known nickname for him in Singapore. Following the general election, Chan was appointed the Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, and the Minister of State at the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts. At the age of 42 then, Chan was one of the youngest ministers to be appointed to the Singapore Cabinet. On 31 July 2012, Chan relinquished his appointment in MICA and was appointed as Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence. Following a restructuring of government ministries in November 2012, he began heading the newly created Ministry of Social and Family Development as Acting Minister. He was promoted to full Minister in September 2013, and concurrently serves as Second Minister for Defence. On 23 January 2015, Chan joined the National Trades Union Congress on a part-time basis; He was appointed as NTUC's deputy secretary-general on 27 January 2015 and will join NTUC full-time from April. On 1 October 2015, following the 2015 election, Chan is appointed the Deputy Chairman of the People's Association Chan is seen as one of the frontrunners for the top position of the fourth-generation of PAP leaders.
Minister for Social and Family Development
Chan has announced three key priorities for his Ministry in the Committee of Supply debate 2014. These priorities are: to maintain the currency and adequacy of Singapore's social support policies, to deliver integrated social services and to develop manpower for the social service sector. He launched the first of 23 Social Service Offices to bring social assistance touch points closer to the populace. The tender evaluation process was revised for commercial childcare centres. The joint effort by Early Childhood Development Agency and Housing Development Board aimed to keep rental costs in HDB estates manageable, and in turn keep childcare programmes affordable. More infrastructure support to benefit non-Anchor Operators setting up preschools in high demand areas and workplaces. Non-AOPs who provide quality and affordable programmes can tap on a Teaching & Learning Resources Grant of up to $4,000 per year for materials and equipment. During a Parliament session in 2017, responding to a raised question, he replied that there will be no change to an existing policy, that single mothers will continue to get only eight of the 16 weeks paid maternity leave that married mothers are entitled to, and will still not be entitled to claim a child relief tax incentive.
On 24 April 2018, it was announced that Chan would succeed Lim Hng Kiang and S. Iswaran as the new Minister for Trade and Industry, and would relinquish his NTUC chief portfolio to then-Minister of Education Ng Chee Meng, effective from 1 May. He also took over responsibility for the Public Service Division on the same day. On 23 November, Chan succeeded Tharman Shanmugaratnam as the People's Action Party's second Assistant Secretary-General.
Personal life
Chan grew up in a single-parent household. His mother Kwong Kait Fong was a machine operator and he has a sister Siew Yin. He lived in a 3-room HDB flat in MacPherson until he was 30 years old. Chan is married with a daughter and two sons.
