Singapore is a parliamentary representative democratic republic whereby the president of Singapore is the head of state, the prime minister of Singapore is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the Cabinet from the parliament, and to a lesser extent, the president. Cabinet has the general direction and control of the government and is accountable to Parliament. There are three separate branches of government: the legislature, executive and judiciary abiding by the Westminster system. Singapore has been described as being a de facto one-party state.
The prime minister of Singapore is the head of government of the Republic of Singapore. The president appoints the prime minister, a Member of Parliament (MP) who in their opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of the majority of MPs. The incumbent prime minister is Lee Hsien Loong, who took office on 12 August 2004.
The president of the Republic of Singapore is the head of state of Singapore. The president represents the country in official diplomatic functions and possesses certain executive powers over the Government of Singapore, including the control of the national reserves and the ability to revoke and appoint public service appointments. The president also holds the prerogative to grant pardons.
Teo Chee Hean is a Singaporean politician and former two-star rear-admiral who has been serving as Senior Minister of Singapore since 2019 and Coordinating Minister for National Security since 2015. A member of the governing People's Action Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Pasir Ris West division of Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC since 2001.
A permanent secretary is the most senior civil servant of a department or ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are the non-political civil service chief executives of government departments or ministries, who generally hold their position for a number of years at a ministry as distinct from the changing political secretaries of state to whom they report and provide advice. The role originated in the civil service of the United Kingdom and has been adopted in several Commonwealth countries as well as other countries influenced by the Westminster system.
The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore to comprise of the President and the Executive. Executive authority of Singapore is vested in the President but exercised on the advice of the Cabinet led by the Prime Minister. The President, acting as the Head of State, may only act in their discretion in appointing the Prime Minister, acting as the Head of Government; as well as withholding consent for the dissolution of Parliament; along with performing key checks on the Government in addition to the ceremonial duties of the Head of State inherited from the Westminster system. The Cabinet, consisting of the Prime Minister and ministers appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's advice, is responsible for heading the Executive through ministries and other statutory boards. At the end of the term or at any time during the term, once the President has consented to a request made by the Prime Minister to dissolve Parliament, Parliamentary General Elections are held to elect members of Parliament for a new term. The President, in their discretion, then appoints a Prime Minister who is a member of Parliament representing any political party or coalition of political parties who in their judgement is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of Parliament. The Prime Minister then forms the Government and, along with the Cabinet, sets the general direction and control of the Government for the next term.
The Cabinet of Singapore forms the executive branch of the Government of Singapore together with the President. It is led by the Prime Minister who is the head of government. The prime minister is a Member of Parliament (MP) appointed by the president who in the president's judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the Members of Parliament (MPs). The other Ministers in the Cabinet are Members of Parliament appointed by the president acting in accordance with the advice of the prime minister. Ministers are prohibited from holding any office of profit and from actively engaging in any commercial enterprise.
The Presidential Council for Minority Rights (PCMR) is a non-elected government body in Singapore established in 1970, the main function of which is to scrutinize most of the bills passed by Parliament to ensure that they do not discriminate against any racial or religious community. If the Council feels that any provision in a bill amounts to a differentiating measure, it will report its findings to Parliament and refer the bill back to Parliament for reconsideration. The council also examines subsidiary legislation and statutes in force on 9 January 1970. One member of the PCMR is nominated by the chairman to the Presidential Elections Committee, which is empowered to ensure that candidates for the office of President have the qualifications required by the Constitution. The President also appoints and dismisses the chairman and members of the Presidential Council for Religious Harmony ("PCRH"), established by the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act, on the advice of the PCMR, and the PCMR is responsible for determining whether PCRH members who are not representatives of major religions in Singapore have distinguished themselves in public service or community relations in Singapore.
The Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore is the presiding officer of the Parliament of Singapore. The speaker is nominated by the prime minister before being appointed by the Parliament. The Speaker is also second in the presidential line of succession. The current Speaker is the People's Action Party MP for Marine Parade GRC, Seah Kian Peng.
The National University of Singapore Faculty of Law is Singapore's oldest law school. NUS Law was initially established in 1956 as the Department of Law in the University of Malaya. After its establishment, NUS Law was Singapore's only law school for half a century, until the subsequent establishment of the SMU School of Law in 2007 and the SUSS School of Law in 2017. NUS Law is currently located at the NUS Bukit Timah Campus. The current dean of NUS Law is Andrew Simester. Internationally, NUS Law has been ranked twelfth by the QS World University Rankings by Subject in 2023 and ninth by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject in 2023.
A judicial commissioner is person appointed on a non-permanent basis to a judicial office. In some countries, such as Malaysia and Singapore, judicial commissioners have the powers of full judges. In other jurisdictions their powers are limited.
Indranee Thurai Rajah is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Finance since 2018, Second Minister for National Development and Leader of the House since 2020. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Tanjong Pagar–Tiong Bahru division of Tanjong Pagar GRC since 2015.
The judicial officers of the Republic of Singapore work in the Supreme Court and the State Courts to hear and determine disputes between litigants in civil cases and, in criminal matters, to determine the liability of accused persons and their sentences if they are convicted.
The attorney-general of Singapore is the public prosecutor of the Republic of Singapore and legal adviser to the Government of Singapore. The attorney-general is the head of the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC), whose staff carries out the functions of the attorney-general. The attorney-general is appointed by the president, on the advice of the prime minister, under Article 35 of the Constitution of Singapore. Unlike some countries that follow the Westminster parliamentary model, the attorney-general is not a Member of Parliament.
The chief minister of Singapore was the head of government of the Colony of Singapore until its abolition on 3 June 1959. It was replaced by the office of Prime Minister. The chief minister was appointed by the governor of Singapore. The chief minister was the party leader of the majority in the Legislative Assembly.
The Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) is a promotion and development agency for Singapore's legal industry. SAL also undertakes statutory functions such as stakeholding services and the appointment of Senior Counsel, Commissioners for Oaths and Notaries Public. It also organises the annual TechLaw.Fest with the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) and MP International. The conference is a global gathering of legal and tech professionals and has featured speakers like Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Law Minister K. Shanmugam.
William Goh Seng Chye is a Singaporean prelate of the Catholic Church who has been serving as the fourth Archbishop of Singapore since 2013. He was made a cardinal by Pope Francis on 27 August 2022.
The Honourable or The Honorable is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain people, usually with official governmental or diplomatic positions.
Ismail Khan bin Ibrahim Khan was a Malaysian barrister and judge who served as the third Chief Justice of Borneo. He was the first Malay law graduate and second to become a barrister. Khan later came out from retirement after being nominated as President of the Dewan Negara by then-Prime Minister of Malaysia Hussein Onn.
