Gan Kim Yong is Singapore’s minister for trade and industry, and one of the government’s public representatives of its pandemic response and recovery efforts, together with minister for finance Lawrence Wong and minister for health Ong Ye Kung. Gan, Wong and Ong are the co‑chairs of the country’s Covid-19 multi-ministry task force; their task is to coordinate a whole-of-government response to the pandemic and communicate developments to the public via televised press conferences and online videos.

In his main portfolio as minister for trade and industry, Gan spearheads the country’s efforts to identify new growth opportunities to boost commerce and the economy. Prior to his current role, he was minister for health for a decade, from 2011 to 2021. Under his stewardship, the Ministry of Health expanded the polyclinic network, and invested in new acute- and community-care hospitals. The MediShield Life medical insurance plan, which covers every Singaporean for life regardless of health status, was also launched in 2015.

Gan also led the Ministerial Committee on Ageing, which develops and implements policies centred on active ageing, senior‑friendly infrastructure and quality aged care. He is married with two daughters.