Wu Fengping, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Development, will retire on April 1, ending her 38-year public service career, and Lu Yicheng will take over the same day.

The Public Services Department issued a statement on Friday (February 28) saying that Wu Fengping, 61, joined Public Service in 1986 and has served in the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Human Resources and the Ministry of Trade and Industry. During the 2003 fight against SARS, she played a key role in filling policy loopholes and coordinated human and resources.

In 2006, Wu Fengping served as president of Jurong Group, promoting industrial development. In 2011, she served as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, overseeing Singapore's economic strategy to support economic transformation, promote productivity, and promote trade and investment through free trade agreements. Under her leadership, the EU signed the first free trade agreement with ASEAN countries – the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement.

Since 2016, Wu Fengping has served as the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of National Development, leading a number of public housing policies, including family mutual aid programs, community care HDB flats and a new HDB flat classification framework. Wu Fengping also led the review of Singapore's long-term planning for the next 50 years and promoted the “Singapore Green Development Blueprint 2030”. She also led the Municipal Services Office to optimize municipal services and actively led the realization of the City in Nature vision and promote the transformation of the construction industry.

With his outstanding contribution, Wu Fengping was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 2023.

Further reading

Dedicating to national development and social well-being Wu Fengping, Guo Shushi, Li Jinfu, Li Fushen was awarded the Medal of Merit

Dedicating to national development and social well-being Wu Fengping, Guo Shushi, Li Jinfu, Li Fushen was awarded the Medal of Merit

Lu Yicheng, 53, has served in the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Interior, and served as the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Transport in 2017. In December 2024, he was appointed as the permanent secretary-elect of the Ministry of National Development.

Minister of Education, Chen Zhensheng, in charge of public services, thanked Wu Fengping for his contributions over the years and pointed out that Wu Fengping's outstanding leadership has brought an important and far-reaching impact on Singapore's public services and social development.