SINGAPORE - Former transport minister Lui Tuck Yew is Singapore's new Ambassador to the People's Republic of China, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement on Thursday (Oct 31).

Mr Lui, formerly the country's ambassador to Japan since June 2017, takes over the key post from Mr Stanley Loh, who has been Singapore's Ambassador to China since March 2012.

Before retiring from politics in 2015, Mr Lui, 58, was transport minister from 2011 to 2015.

He had taken on the portfolio of second minister for defence in April 2015, and was second minister for foreign affairs from 2011 to 2012.

He announced his intention not to stand in the 2015 General Election in August that year, saying his decision to leave was a personal choice and one he had mulled over for some time.

Before taking on the transport hot seat, he was minister for information, communications and the arts from 2009 to 2011.

He was first elected as a Member of Parliament in 2006.

Prior to joining politics, Mr Lui was chief executive of the Housing Board from 2005 to 2006.

He was appointed Navy Chief in 1999, and held that post till 2003. From 2003 to 2005, he was chief executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.

In a Facebook post on Thursday, President Halimah Yacob wrote that she had presented a letter of credence to Mr Lui, and was confident that he would carry out his duties well.