On 1 August 2012, he was appointed Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of National Development and Acting Minister for Manpower.[8] During his tenure at the Ministry of National Development, Tan worked with heritage, nature, environmental and animal welfare groups on issues related to the Rail Corridor and Bukit Brown Cemetery. He also worked on issues which led to Sisters' Islands being designated as Singapore's first marine park, as well as amendments being made to the Animal and Birds Act.[9]
On 1 September 2013, Tan relinquished his appointment at the Ministry of National Development and became Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Manpower while continuing to serve as Acting Minister for Manpower. On 1 May 2014, he was promoted to full Minister.[10] On 9 April 2015, Tan relinquished his portfolio as Minister for Manpower and became Minister for Social and Family Development as part of a Cabinet reshuffle.[11]
Tan retained his parliamentary seat in Kembangan–Chai Chee after his five-member PAP team contesting in Marine Parade GRC during the 2020 general election won again with 57.74% of the vote against the Workers' Party (WP). After the election, he continued serving as Speaker of Parliament.
On 11 July 2023, Tan made a public apology to WP MP Jamus Lim after a clip of him using unparliamentary language during a 17 April parliamentary sitting was shared on Reddit. As Speaker of Parliament, Tan was heard saying "fucking populist" under his breath at the end of a 20-minute speech by Lim urging the PAP government to further help lower-income groups and to establish an official poverty line, when the microphone picked up Tan's comment. Lim accepted his apology.[16][17]
Resignation
On 17 July 2023, both Tan and Cheng Li Hui simultaneously resigned from Parliament and as members of the PAP due to "propriety and personal conduct".[18] Prime Minister and PAP's Secretary-General Lee Hsien Loong confirmed that Tan, who is married, and Cheng were having an extramarital affair, since at least 2020.[19] Though Lee found out that the extramarital affair continued through to February 2023, and Tan had offered his resignation then, Lee asked for Tan to first sort out the succession arrangements in his ward.[20][21]
In a statement, Lee responded to their resignation letters that their resignations were "necessary" for "maintain[ing] the high standards of propriety and personal conduct which the PAP has upheld all these years."[22][23] Their respective parliamentary seats at Marine Parade GRC and Tampines GRC were subsequently left vacant, and the workload for Tan's Kembangan–Chai Chee division of Marine Parade GRC and Cheng's Tampines East division of Tampines GRC were distributed among the other MPs in their respective GRCs. Tan also resigned his position as Speaker of the Parliament.[18]
Post-parliamentary career
Tan would be announced as an instructor for a "masterclass in leadership" held at the SMF Centre for Corporate Learning in a Facebook post, which would be quickly taken down due to significant backlash; the course itself would proceed as scheduled.[24]
Personal life
Tan is married with two children. He is a practising Christian.[25][26]
The party affiliation of each member is indicated right after the constituency/seat he or she represents. PAP: People's Action Party; WP: The Workers' Party; PSP: Progress Singapore Party All of the leaders of the respective GRCs are in underline. MP(s) who is go on a leave of absence is in italic. NMPs do not belong to any party.
The party affiliation of each member is indicated right after the constituency he or she represents. PAP: People's Action Party; WP: The Workers' Party NMPs do not belong to any party. There were two terms of NMPs in this parliament, with nine NMPs in each term.
The party affiliation of each member is indicated right after the constituency he or she represents. PAP: People's Action Party; SPP: Singapore People's Party; WP: The Workers' Party For NCMPs, Gerald Giam and Yee Jenn Jong are from the WP, while Lina Loh is from the SPP. NMPs do not belong to any party. There were two terms of NMPs in this parliament, with nine NMPs in each term.