Gretchen Liu

Gretchen Liu (b. 1951, Minnesota, United States -) nee Gretchen Gustafson a.k.a Gretchen Mahbubani, journalist and writer of books on local culture, history and architecture.

Gretchen is of mixed European origins, having a Swedish father and Polish mother. She first came to Singapore at the age of 20, as an exchange student. She met Kishore Mahbubani during this time who in time become her first husband. She returned to Singapore only after she completed her degree in International Relations and History at the University of Minnesota and finishing Mandarin studies at Cornell University.

She started work as an editor at Longman, a local publishing firm, before becoming a journalist for The Straits Times' art and lifestyle section. She moved toward publishing books on Singapore's local cultural scene even whilst holding parallel positions in heritage institutions such as being the curator of Raffles Hotel Museum and becoming the art consultant for Raffles International. She was also the chairman of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra Ladies' League.

Despite the breakdown of her first marriage, Gretchen continued to write books. Through her work, she met architect and urban planner Liu Thai Ker who was to become her second husband in 1984. She has two children with Thai Ker -- Kristin, a daughter and her son Daniel.

Works
1984 : Pastel portraits: Singapore's architectural heritage 
1987 : One hundred years of the National Museum
1992 : Raffles Hotel
1995 : From the family album: Portraits from the Lee Brothers Studio
1996 : In granite and chunam: The national monuments of Singapore
1997 : Raffles Hotel Style. 
1999 : Singapore: A pictorial history 1819 - 2000
2001 : Singapore sketchbook



Author
Bonny Tan



References
Low, K. C. & Dunlop, P. K. G. (Eds.). (2000). Whos who in Singapore. Who's Who Publishing. 
(Call no.: R SING 920.05957 WHO)

Movers, shakers and a whiff of swear. (1999, November 13). The Straits Times, Life!, p. 1-2.



The information in this article is valid as at 2003 and correct as far as we can ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Personalities>>Biographies>>Authors
Women authors--Singapore
Language and literature>>Literatures>>East and Southeast Asian literature>>Singapore literature

Librarian Recommendations
>> Liu Thai Ker


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