Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean statesman and lawyer who served as the founding Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party between 1954 and 1992. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tanjong Pagar from 1955 until his death in 2015. Lee is widely recognised as the founding father of the modern Singaporean state, and for his leadership in turning the island into a highly developed city state.
The People's Action Party is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and one of three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and Progress Singapore Party (PSP).
Barisan Sosialis was a political party in Singapore. It was formed on 29 July 1961 and officially registered on 13 August 1961 by left-wing members of the People's Action Party (PAP) who had been expelled from the PAP. The prominent founding members of the Barisan were Lee Siew Choh and Lim Chin Siong. It became the biggest opposition party in Singapore in the 1960s and the 1980s.
The Labour Front is a defunct political party in Singapore that operated from 1955 to 1960.
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.
Lim Chin Siong was a Singaporean politician and union leader active in Singapore in the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the founders of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), which has governed the country continuously since independence. Lim also used his popularity to galvanise many trade unions in support of the PAP.
Lim Yew Hock was a Singaporean-born Malaysian politician and diplomat who served as Chief Minister of Singapore between 1956 and 1959. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cairnhill between 1959 and 1963 and previously a Member of the Legislative Council and later Legislative Assembly between 1948 and 1963. He was the 2nd de facto Leader of the Opposition between 1959 and 1963. He and his family elected to take up Malaysian citizenship after Singapore's independence from Malaysia.
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 Singapore People's Alliance was a political coalition in Singapore founded in 1958, comprising the Labour Front and Liberal Socialist Party. It has never won any seats in the Parliament of Singapore. However, the party did win 4 seats to the Singaporean Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1959 under the leadership of former Chief Minister Lim Yew Hock, with a popular vote of 107,755 or 20.7% of the total number of votes. Following the election, the Liberal Socialist Party merged into it.
Singapore Sports School (SSP) is a specialised independent boarding school under the purview of Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth of the Government of Singapore that offers an integrated sports and academic programme to secondary and post-secondary students in Singapore.
General elections were held in Singapore on 30 May 1959. They were held under the new constitution and were the first in which all 51 seats in the Legislative Assembly were filled by election. This was the first election victory for the People's Action Party (PAP), as they won a landslide victory with 43 seats. The party has remained in power ever since.
The self-governance of Singapore was carried out in several stages. Since the founding of Singapore in 1819, Singapore had been under the colonial rule of the United Kingdom. The first local elections on a limited scale for several positions in the government of Singapore started in 1948 following an amendment to the Constitution of Singapore.
Lui Tuck Yew is a Singaporean diplomat, former politician and two-star rear-admiral who has been serving as Singapore Ambassador to the United States since 2023. He previously served as Singapore Ambassador to China between 2019 and 2023, and before that was Ambassador to Japan between 2017 and 2019.
Lin is the Mandarin romanization of the Chinese surname written 林. It is also used in Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia.
General elections were held in Singapore on 2 April 1955 to elect members to the 25 elected seats in the Legislative Assembly. Nomination day was on 28 February 1955.
The Second Cabinet of Lee Hsien Loong of the Government of Singapore was sworn into office on 30 May 2006, following the 2006 general election for the 11th Parliament. As was the case previously, the Cabinet was made up exclusively of Members of Parliament from the governing People's Action Party (PAP).
The Third Cabinet of Lee Hsien Loong of the Government of Singapore came into existence on 21 May 2011 following the 2011 general election. While many of its members were retained from the previous government, Heng Swee Keat and Chan Chun Sing, who had both just been elected, were given ministerial appointments.
Lim Hock Siew was a Singaporean politician, political prisoner and medical doctor.
Jek Yeun Thong was a Singaporean politician who served as Minister for Science and Technology between 1976 and 1977, Minister for Culture between 1968 and 1977 and Minister for Labour between 1963 and 1968.
The following lists events that happened during 1956 in Singapore.
