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George Bogaars

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George Bogaars
c. 1974
Director of the Special Branch
In office
1 August 1961 – 9 August 1965
Prime MinisterLee Kuan Yew
Preceded byEric John Linsell
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Head of the Singapore Civil Service
In office
August 1968 – July 1975
Prime MinisterLee Kuan Yew
Succeeded byHowe Yoon Chong
Personal details
Born
George Edwin Bogaars

(1926-10-25)25 October 1926
Singapore
Died6 April 1992(1992-04-06) (aged 65)
Singapore
Cause of deathHeart failure
SpouseDorothy Lee Kian Neo (divorced 1977)
Children3
RelativesEdwin Tessensohn (great-grandfather)
Alma materUniversity of Malaya (BA, MA)

George Edwin Bogaars (25 October 1926 – 6 April 1992) was a Singaporean intelligence officer and bureaucrat. From 1961 to 1968, he served as the head of the Ministry of Home Affairs' Special Branch. He subsequently led the Singapore Civil Service and was instrumental in the establishment of the Singapore Armed Forces. Bogaars was also the director of Keppel Shipyard and the National Iron and Steel Mills. Between 1980 and 1985, he suffered a heart attack and three strokes, and remained in poor health for the rest of his life. In 1992, Bogaars died of heart failure, aged 65.

Early life and education

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George Edwin Bogaars was born on 25 October 1926 in Singapore.[1] Bogaars' first name was taken from his father, George Edward Bogaars,[2] who was the secretary to the Governor of the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States,[3] while his middle name was taken from his great-grandfather, Edwin Tessensohn.[4] Bogaars attended the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus, Saint Patrick's School, and St. Joseph's Institution.[1] During the Japanese occupation of Malaya in 1943, Bogaars was forced to relocate from Singapore to Bahau with his father and his younger brother, Brian.[1][3]

The Bogaars spent three-and-a-half years in Bahau and lived off their own farm produce, which included maize, sweet potatoes, and tapioca. After the war, the younger George Bogaars returned to Singapore and obtained a Raffles College Scholarship.[3] He enrolled at the University of Malaya, graduating in 1951 with a Bachelor of Arts in history.[5] A year later, he received a Shell Fellowship to pursue a Master of Arts in history at the same university.[3] Bogaars became one of the first two students to receive an MA from the University of Malaya.[6]

Career

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Bogaars had hoped to pursue an academic career but in 1952, at his father's insistence,[3] he joined the Ministry of Commerce and Industry as a new member of the Administrative Service. Three years later, he was appointed as secretary of the Board of Currency Commissioners (Malaya and Borneo) at the Ministry of Finance.[5]

On 1 August 1961, Bogaars succeeded Eric John Linsell as director of the Ministry of Home Affairs' Special Branch,[7] becoming the first Singaporean to assume the role. In 1962, Bogaars was awarded with both the Meritorious Service Medal and the Malaysia Medal.[5] As head of the Special Branch, Bogaars oversaw Operation Coldstore, a covert operation that led to the arrests of 113 suspected communist sympathisers.[8] Following Singapore's separation from Malaysia in 1965, Bogaars was appointed Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Defence under Goh Keng Swee.[5] While at the Ministry of Defence, Bogaars played a crucial role in the establishment of the Singapore Armed Forces and its training institute.[9]

In 1967, the History Association of Singapore was established and Bogaars was elected as its first president.[10] The same year, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.[5] In August 1968, he became the head of the Singapore Civil Service,[5] a post that he held until 1975.[3] In 1970, Bogaars was appointed as the director of Keppel Shipyard. During his tenure, Keppel became the largest ship repair company in the country,[1] although it also amassed a debt of nearly S$845 million following its S$408 million aquisition of Straits Steamship in 1983.[11]

Bogaars left the Ministry of Defence in 1970 to become Permanent Secretary (Economic Development) at the Ministry of Finance. In 1973, he was appointed Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Bogaars resigned from his position as head of the Civil Service in July 1975 and was succeeded by Howe Yoon Chong.[9] In 1978, Bogaars returned to the Ministry of Finance again, where he remained until his retirement.[12]

Later years

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After retiring from public service on 25 October 1981,[9] Bogaars took on directorships at several other companies, including Acma Electrical Industries, Chemical Far East,[13] DBS Bank, and the National Iron and Steel Mills.[11][14] He resigned from Keppel in 1984 and the National Iron and Steel Mills a year later.[15]

On 7 March 1985, Bogaars was admitted to Singapore General Hospital after suffering a heart attack.[15][16] He suffered a third stroke in November of the same year, which left him partly paralysed and temporarily unable to speak.[2][17] On 6 April 1992,[1] having spent the previous five weeks in hospital,[18] Bogaars died of heart failure, aged 65.[8]

Family

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Bogaars was a Catholic.[2] He was married to Dorothy Lee Kian Neo (d. 2019),[11] and they lived together at Bukit Timah.[19] In 1971,[2] Lee filed for divorce "on the grounds of cruelty". The divorce was finalised in February 1977 and Lee was awarded full custody of their three children.[20]

Selected works and publications

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  • Bogaars, George (1955). "The Effect of the Opening of the Suez Canal on the Trade and Development of Singpore". Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 28 (1): 99–143.

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b c d e Morris, Rebecca, ed. (April–June 2015). "At the Heart of History". The New Eurasian. p. 11.
  2. ^ a b c d Ong, Catherine (16 June 1985). "Bogaars: It doesn't help to be vocal". Singapore Monitor. p. 6.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Kwan, Mary (9 May 1982). "Bogaars turns the clock back". New Nation. p. 42.
  4. ^ Tessensohn 2001, p. 40.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Mr. Bogaars heads civil service". The Straits Times. 16 August 1968. p. 10.
  6. ^ Ho, Grace (25 October 2021). "Ex-spymaster and top civil servant's biography on WWII, S'pore's separation launched". The Straits Times.
  7. ^ "Bogaars chief of Special Branch". The Straits Times. 12 August 1961. p. 9.
  8. ^ a b "George Bogaars dies". The Business Times. 8 April 1992. p. 4.
  9. ^ a b c Fong, Leslie (26 October 1981). "Bogaars". The Straits Times. pp. 12–13.
  10. ^ "Spore forms a history association". The Straits Times. 13 September 1967. p. 8.
  11. ^ a b c Ho, Grace (6 November 2021). "The spymaster of Singapore: New book tells George E. Bogaars' story". The Straits Times.
  12. ^ Desker 2012, p. 1953.
  13. ^ "Bogaars steps down as National Iron chairman". The Business Times. 28 May 1985. p. 15.
  14. ^ Chee 1975, p. 64.
  15. ^ a b "Bogaars has heart attack". Singapore Monitor. 14 March 1985. p. 6.
  16. ^ "Bogaars in hospital". The Straits Times. 15 March 1985. p. 48.
  17. ^ "Bogaars in hospital after stroke". The Business Times. 5 November 1985. p. 1.
  18. ^ "'Archetypal civil servant' George Bogaars dies". The Straits Times. 8 April 1992. p. 21.
  19. ^ "The Bogaars are robbed of $5,000". The Straits Times. 30 September 1971. p. 7.
  20. ^ "Wife granted divorce". The Straits Times. 2 March 1977. p. 8.

Bibliography

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  • Chee, M. Sean (1975). Trends in Singapore. Ohio University Press. ISBN 9780821405109.
  • Desker, Barry (2012). Goh Keng Swee: A Public Career Remembered. World Scientific Publishing. ISBN 9789814291392.
  • Tessensohn, Denyse (2001). Elvis Lived in Katong Personal Singapore Eurasiana. Dagmar Books. ISBN 9789810443160.
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