History
The office of deputy prime minister is the second highest position in the Cabinet of Singapore, typically held by senior ministers. At times, two individuals could serve simultaneously as deputy prime ministers. The officeholder is generally assigned specific duties by the prime minister, including deputising in the Parliament of Singapore. Additionally, the deputy prime minister often acts as prime minister during periods when the latter is abroad, on leave or incapacitated.
Established in 1959 with Singapore's attainment of self-governance from the British Empire, the first deputy prime minister was appointed by Yang di-Pertuan Negara William Goode. The position retained its title following Singapore's merger with the Federation of Malaya, Sarawak and North Borneo to form Malaysia, during which Singapore functioned as a autonomous federated state between 1963 and 1965. Toh Chin Chye was the inaugural officeholder, serving from 1959 to 1968. [1] It was vacant from 1968 to 1973, when prime minister Lee Kuan Yew did not pick a deputy for his Third Cabinet after winning the 1968 Singaporean general election.
Two former deputy prime ministers of Singapore have subsequently been elected as President of Singapore. These include Ong Teng Cheong and Tharman Shanmugaratnam, both of whom transitioned from their deputy roles to the nation's head of state. [2] [3] Lawrence Wong assumed the office of deputy prime minister on 13 June 2022 but left the position on 15 May 2024 to become prime minister, making his tenure the shortest in the history of the office. His successor, Gan Kim Yong, took office on 15 May 2024 and continues to serve concurrently as Minister for Trade and Industry.
This page is based on this
Wikipedia article Text is available under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
