Chandra Das, S.

Sitaram Chandra Das, known as S Chandra Das (b. 1939), with a public and political career spanning over 40 years, has made significant contributions to Singapore’s development in government, business, and the Indian community. He was the People’s Action Party’s Member of Parliament (MP) for Chong Boon (1980 – 1988) and Cheng San GRC (1988 – 1996). Born in Singapore, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree in Economics from the University of Singapore in 1965. He began his government career in the Economic Development Board and rose to become Chairman of the Trade Development Board. He left the civil service to join politics in 1980 and also built a career in the private sector. He continues to hold top positions in local and foreign companies. He has been the managing director of NUR Investment & Trading Pte. Ltd., a company he founded and is also on the boards of several listed corporate entities. During his 16-year tenure as MP, Das held important positions, including as Chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Defence and Foreign Affairs, and the Government Feedback Unit. His extensive business experience led him to be involved with NTUC Co-operatives since 1972, and he served as Chairman of NTUC Fairprice from 1993 to 2005. He was Pro-Chancellor of Nanyang Technological University from 2007.

In his diplomatic role, he served as Singapore’s first Trade Representative to the USSR (1970 – 1972) and as Non-Resident Ambassador to Turkey (2006 – 2015). He was appointed as Non-Resident High Commissioner to Sri Lanka in 2015. A prominent figure in the Indian community, Das co-founded the Singapore Indian Welfare Association, which aimed to address social issues among Indians and uplift them in society. Later, he was named a life trustee of SINDA, the Indian self-help group. He also took up the Chairmanship of the national Tamil daily, Tamil Murasu (2005 – 2017) and under his leadership, the English weekly Tabla! was introduced to serve non-Tamil speaking Indians. For his various contributions, Das has been given many awards, including the Public Service Star by the government and the Friend of Labour Award and the Distinguished Service (Star) Award by the National Trades Union Congress.



For more information
NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. “Distinguished Arts and Social Sciences Alumni Award 2019.” (n.d.). https://fass.nus.edu.sg/about-us/stars/stars-2019/
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore. “MFA Press Statement: Appointment of High Commissioner to the Republic of South Africa and Singapore’s Non-Resident High Commissioner to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.” May 28, 2015. https://www.mfa.gov.sg/Newsroom/Press-Statements-Transcripts-and-Photos/2015/05/MFA-Press-Statement-Appointment-of-High-Commissioner-to-the-Republic-of-South-Africa-and-Singapores

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The information in this article is valid as of August 2025 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. If you have any feedback on this article, please submit here.