List of presidents of Singapore

• Top left: S. R. Nathan was the longest serving president of Singapore.
• Top right: Halimah Yacob was the first female president of Singapore.
• Bottom left: Ong Teng Cheong was the first president to be elected by popular vote.
• Bottom right: Tharman Shanmugaratnam is the incumbent president of Singapore.

The President of Singapore is the head of state of the Republic of Singapore. Preceded by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara, the office of president was created on 22 December 1965 after Singapore's independence in August 1965, with incumbent Yang di-Pertuan Negara Yusof Ishak serving as the first president. ^{[1] [2]} Under the Constitution, presidents must be a Singaporean citizen, ^[3] non-partisan, ^[4] and elected by a popular vote. ^[5]

Originally elected by Parliament, a 1991 constitutional amendment was made to allow for the president to be directly elected by a popular vote, with the 1993 presidential election between Ong Teng Cheong and Chua Kim Yeow being the first time a president was directly elected by popular vote. ^{[6] [5]} Singapore follows a non-executive model of the Westminster parliamentary system where the president serves as the head of state, separate to the head of government which is instead served by the Cabinet, led by the prime minister. ^[7] In 2016, a second constitutional amendment was made that allowed for a presidential election to be reserved for an ethnic community in Singapore if no one from that community had served as president for the last five presidential terms. ^{[8] [9]}

The role of the president was originally ceremonial and symbolic, carrying residual powers, however the role was later given executive powers such as the reserve power to veto certain bills, most notably in relation to Singapore's reserves as a check and balance process as well as revoking and appointing public service appointments among other powers listed in the Constitution. ^{[10] [11]}

There have been nine presidents since Singapore gained independence in 1965. The term of president was previously 4 years, with it being extended to 6 years following the 1991 constitutional amendment. ^[12] Two presidents, Yusof and Benjamin Sheares, have died in office. ^{[13] [14]} Devan Nair was the first president to resign mid-term. ^[15] S. R. Nathan was the longest serving president, serving as president for 12 years. ^[16]

List of presidents

Symbols

^† Died in office

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Prior office	Term of office			Election	Results	Ref.
				Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Yusof Ishak (1910–1970)	Yang di-Pertuan Negara	9 August 1965	23 November 1970 [†]	5 years, 106 days [a]	– [b]	Elected by Parliament	[2]
							1967
Speaker of Parliament Yeoh Ghim Seng as Acting President 23 November 1970–2 January 1971									[18]
2		Benjamin Sheares (1907–1981)	Physician, academic	2 January 1971	12 May 1981 [†]	10 years, 130 days	1970	Elected by Parliament	[19]
							1974
							1978
Chief Justice Wee Chong Jin as Acting President 12 May 1981–14 May 1981									[20] [13]
Speaker of Parliament Yeoh Ghim Seng as Acting President 14 May 1981–23 October 1981
3		Devan Nair (1923–2005)	Member of Parliament	23 October 1981	28 March 1985	3 years, 156 days [c]	1981	Elected by Parliament	[22]
Chief Justice Wee Chong Jin as Acting President 28 March 1985–31 March 1985									[23]
Speaker of Parliament Yeoh Ghim Seng as Acting President 31 March 1985–2 September 1985
4		Wee Kim Wee (1915–2005)	Ambassador-at-Large	2 September 1985	1 September 1993	7 years, 364 days	1985	Elected by Parliament	[24]
							1989
5		Ong Teng Cheong (1936–2002)	Deputy Prime Minister	1 September 1993	1 September 1999	6 years	1993	952,513 (58.69%)	[25]
6		Sellapan Ramanathan (1924–2016)	Ambassador-at-Large	1 September 1999	1 September 2011	12 years	1999	Uncontested	[26]
							2005
7		Tony Tan Keng Yam (born 1940)	Deputy Prime Minister	1 September 2011	1 September 2017	6 years	2011	745,693 (35.20%)	[27]
Chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers J. Y. Pillay as Acting President 1 September 2017–14 September 2017									[28]
8		Halimah Yacob (born 1954)	Speaker of Parliament	14 September 2017	14 September 2023	6 years	2017	Uncontested	[29]
9		Tharman Shanmugaratnam (born 1957)	Senior Minister	14 September 2023	Incumbent (14 September 2029)	1 year, 165 days	2023	1,749,261 (70.41%)	[30]

Timeline

See also

• Politics of Singapore
• Presidential elections in Singapore
• Spouse of the president of Singapore

References

Notes

1. If his role as Yang-de Pertuan Negara is acknowledged, time in office would be 10 years, 355 days.
2. Yusof was previously serving as the Yang di-Pertuan Negara after he was appointed the role following the 1959 general election, where Singapore was granted full self-governance from the British. ^[17] He served in this role from 3 December 1959 to 9 August 1965 (5 years, 249 days). ^[14]
3. Resigned mid-term following reports of alcoholism and sexual misconduct. ^[21]

Citations

1. "REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE INDEPENDENCE ACT 1965". Singapore Statutes Online. 9 August 1965. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
2. "Yusof to be the first President". The Straits Times . 15 December 1965. p. 13. Retrieved 27 September 2024– via NewspaperSG.
3. Constitution, Art. 19(2)(a)
4. Constitution, Art. 19(2)(f)
5. Constitution, Art. 17A
6. Cua, Genevieve (30 November 1991). "Powers of elected president come into effect today". The Business Times . p. 1. Retrieved 27 September 2024– via NewspaperSG.
7. "Explanatory Material on the Role of the President under the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore" (PDF). Elections Department Singapore . p. 3. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
8. Koh, Valerie (21 August 2016). "'Vital to ensure minority President from time to time', as race still matters". TODAY . Retrieved 10 October 2024.
9. Constitution, Art. 19B
10. Constitution, Art. 37IE
11. Shafeeq, Syarafana (24 August 2023). "What the president can and cannot do: ELD explains". The Straits Times . ISSN   0585-3923 . Retrieved 27 September 2024.
12. "Elected President's powers for President Wee". The Straits Times . 7 December 1991. p. 1. Retrieved 9 October 2024– via NewspaperSG.
13. "Sheares in a coma". The Straits Times . 11 May 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 27 September 2024– via NewspaperSG.
14. "Life and times of Yusof Ishak, Singapore's first president". The Straits Times . 18 August 2014. ISSN   0585-3923 . Retrieved 6 October 2024.
15. John, Alan (29 March 1985). "President resigns". The Straits Times . p. 1. Retrieved 6 October 2024– via NewspaperSG.
16. Liang, Chong Zi (22 August 2016). "Former president S R Nathan dies, aged 92". The Straits Times . ISSN   0585-3923 . Retrieved 6 October 2024.
17. "YUSOF Head of State". The Straits Times . 2 December 1959. p. 1. Retrieved 10 October 2024– via NewspaperSG.
18. Chia, Poteik (27 December 1970). "SHEARES TO BE PRESIDENT". The Straits Times . p. 1. Retrieved 27 September 2024– via NewspaperSG.
19. • "All 'ayes' for Sheares". The Straits Times . 31 December 1970. p. 1. Retrieved 9 October 2024– via NewspaperSG.
    • "Sheares elected to second term of office". The Straits Times . 7 November 1974. p. 1. Retrieved 9 October 2024– via NewspaperSG.
    • "Sheares sworn in for third term". The Straits Times . 31 December 1978. p. 8. Retrieved 9 October 2024– via NewspaperSG.
20. "ACTING PRESIDENT". The Business Times . 12 May 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 27 September 2024– via NewspaperSG.
21. "Why Devan Nair had to resign". The Straits Times . 2 July 1988. p. 2. Retrieved 10 October 2024– via NewspaperSG.
22. Teo, Lian Huay (25 October 1981). "All rise for the new President". New Nation . p. 2. Retrieved 27 September 2024– via NewspaperSG.
23. "No deadline on picking new President". The Straits Times . 29 March 1985. p. 14. Retrieved 27 September 2024– via NewspaperSG.
24. • John, Alan (28 August 1985). "Wee Kim Wee to be President". The Straits Times . p. 1. Retrieved 9 October 2024– via NewspaperSG.
    • "President Wee sworn in for second term". The Straits Times . 3 September 1989. p. 1. Retrieved 9 October 2024– via NewspaperSG.
25. "President Ong attends first official function". The Straits Times . 6 September 1993. p. 1. Retrieved 27 September 2024– via NewspaperSG.
26. • Zi'Raidan, Ibrahim (21 August 1999). "S. R. Nathan elected President" . The Straits Times . p. 2. Retrieved 9 October 2024. Mr S. R. Nathan was elected President in a no-surprise walkover on Wednesday and will be sworn in at the Istana on 1 September
    • Chuang, Peck Ming (13 July 2005). "President Nathan to seek second term" . The Business Times . p. 2. Retrieved 9 October 2024– via NewspaperSG. President S. R. Nathan yesterday announced that he will seek reelection, ending months of speculation over whether he would run for a second term.
27. "Singapore presidential election won by Tony Tan". BBC News . 27 August 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
28. Toh, Elgin (1 September 2017). "Pillay takes on role of acting president". The Straits Times . ISSN   0585-3923 . Retrieved 10 October 2024.
29. Tham, Yuen-C (13 September 2017). "Halimah Yacob to be sworn in as Singapore's 8th president on Thursday: PMO". The Straits Times . ISSN   0585-3923 . Retrieved 27 September 2024.
30. Goh, Yan Han (14 September 2023). "Tharman sworn in as S'pore's 9th president, reiterates plans to unite nation". The Straits Times . ISSN   0585-3923 . Retrieved 27 September 2024.

Legislation

• Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (1985 Rev. Ed., 1999 Reprint)