2005. He was also appointed as Chairman of the National Research Foundation, Deputy Chairman of the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council, and Chairman of Singapore Press Holdings concurrently. Tan's tenure at GIC coincided with moves toward greater disclosure in the investment fund's activities amid mounting concerns about the secretive fund's influence after high-profile investments in UBS and Citigroup. Political career A former member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), Tan was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sembawang GRC after his electoral victory in the 1979 by-elections. He was subsequently appointed as Senior Minister of State for Education in 1979. Minister for Education (1980–1981, 1985–1991) He joined the Cabinet in 1980, serving as Minister for Education. As the Minister for Education, Tan scrapped a policy that favoured children of more well-educated mothers ahead of children of less-educated mothers in primary school placement in response to popular discontent and public criticism of the policy which saw PAP receiving the lowest votes since independence during the 1984 general election. He also introduced the independent schools system, allowing established educational institutions in Singapore to charge its own fees and have control over their governance and teaching staff, though this was criticised by parents as being "elitist" and made top-ranked schools increasingly out of reach to poorer families due to subsequent fee hikes. Minister for Trade and Industry (1981–1986) Tan took on the role of Minister for Trade and Industry from 1981 to 1986. He was also appointed as Minister for Finance from 1983 to 1985, and Minister for Health from 1985 to 1986. Tan espoused a cut in the Central Provident Fund (CPF) in the 1980s, which Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew had said would not be allowed except "in an economic crisis". Tan was also known to have opposed the shipping industry strike in January 1986, the first for about a decade in Singapore, which was sanctioned by fellow Cabinet minister, Ong Teng Cheong, who is also Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress, felt the strike was necessary. As Minister for Trade and Industry, Tan was concerned about investors' reactions to a perceived deterioration of labour relations and the impact on foreign direct investment. In his analysis, historian Michael Barr explains that older [grassroots] union leaders bore "increasing disquiet" at their exclusion from consultation in NTUC's policies, which were effectively managed by "technocrats" in the government. Unlike the