Former US president Barack Obama and wife Michelle in Singapore for public talks in December

SINGAPORE - The Obamas are coming to Singapore in December, to give two separate public talks organised by business events provider The Growth Faculty.

Former United States president Barack Obama is slated to speak on Dec 16 at the Singapore Expo about his time in office and his current views on leadership.

His wife Michelle Obama has also been booked at the same venue on Dec 14, where she will share experiences drawn from her memoir, Becoming, which was published last year.

The Growth Faculty announced the events on Wednesday (Oct 9), noting that this is Mr Obama's first public business event in Singapore.

It said that the two events present an opportunity for the South-east Asian business community and members of the public to learn from the couple, who recently celebrated 27 years of marriage.

According to The Growth Faculty's website, standard tickets for Mr Obama's event, In Conversation with President Barack Obama, and Mrs Obama's talk, An Evening with Michelle Obama, are going for $345 each for non-members.

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The African-American power couple are popular in Singapore.

They were named the most admired man and woman in a YouGov poll in July, the second year in a row they have been awarded the accolade.

Last year, Mr Obama, who served as the 44th US president from 2009 to 2017, made a brief stopover in Singapore.

On his visit, he had dinner with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and met a group of young leaders from South-east Asia, including Singaporean Vanessa Paranjothy, who is currently at Columbia University on the Obama Foundation Scholars Programme.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.