Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore | |
---|---|
Government of Singapore Prime Minister's Office | |
Style |
|
Type | Head of government |
Abbreviation | PM |
Residence | Sri Temasek |
Appointer | President |
Term length | 5 years, renewable |
Inaugural holder | Lee Kuan Yew |
Formation | 3 June 1959 |
Deputy | Deputy Prime Minister |
Salary | S$2,200,000/US$1,641,791 annually (including S$192,500 MP salary) |
Website | www |
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The prime minister of Singapore [a] is the head of government of Singapore. The president appoints the prime minister on the advice and consent of the Cabinet of Singapore. The incumbent prime minister is Lawrence Wong, who took office on 15 May 2024. [1]
Singapore is modelled after the Westminster system. The prime minister only governs with the confidence of the majority in Parliament; as such, the prime minister typically sits as a Member of Parliament (MP) and leads the largest party or a coalition of parties. In practice, the prime minister is the leader of the majority party in Parliament.
The office of prime minister succeeded the office of chief minister in 1959 after Singapore had attained self-governance from the United Kingdom, as the State of Singapore, [2] [3] with Lee Kuan Yew being sworn in as the first prime minister on 5 June 1959. [4]
Concerning Singapore's autonomous status in the Malaysia Agreement, the title of prime minister remained unchanged after Singapore's merger with Malaya, Sarawak and North Borneo to form Malaysia in 1963, despite the existence of the prime minister of Malaysia for the entire federation of which Singapore was briefly a part. [5] [6]
Following the independence of Singapore in 1965, the office of Prime Minister was retained, with the president of Singapore becoming a ceremonial head of state. In 1991, amendments to the Constitution of Singapore vested executive powers in the presidency, along with discretionary veto powers over the government. [7] The Constitution also vests "general direction and control of the government" in the Cabinet, with the president almost always bound to act on the advice of the Cabinet or any minister acting under the Cabinet authority. Thus, in practice, most of the actual work of governing is done by the prime minister and Cabinet. [8]
Under Article 26(4)(a) of the Constitution of Singapore, the prime minister may appoint a Cabinet minister, subject to presidential approval, as acting prime minister if the prime minister is on medical leave, away from Singapore or is granted a leave of absence under Article 32 of the Constitution. [9] [10] The deputy prime minister or senior minister will usually become the acting prime minister. Still, any Cabinet minister may be appointed to the role.
Under the Constitution, executive power is nominally vested in the president. However, the president can only exercise that authority on the advice of the Cabinet or a minister acting under general Cabinet authority. Hence, in practice, the prime minister, as the Cabinet's leader, does most of the actual work of governing.
The prime minister is responsible for overseeing the government's day-to-day affairs and executing government policy. As leader of the majority party in Parliament, the prime minister is also responsible for passing legislation through Parliament.
The prime minister also nominates the speaker of Parliament and leader of the house, who are responsible for arranging government business and organising legislative programmes, usually under the directive of the prime minister and the Cabinet. [11]
The prime minister chooses the other members of the Cabinet by advising the president; the president must exercise their powers in accordance with the advice of the prime minister. The prime minister may change, retain, or revoke any sitting minister's appointment under their prerogative. [12] The prime minister also advises the president on appointments, such as Attorney-General, and Permanent Secretary of a ministry. [13] [14]
The prime minister can advise the president to make a Proclamation of Emergency; the president issues the Proclamation if satisfied. [15]
The prime minister can declare a defence or security measure, [16] and has executive authority over the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) through the Armed Forces Council, which consists of Minister for Defence, Permanent Secretaries of the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), Chief of Defence Force, Chief of Army, Chief of Air Force and Chief of Navy; all of whom are appointed by the president under the prime minister's advice. [17]
Sri Temasek is the prime minister's official residence, though none of the prime ministers have ever lived there. The Istana is the working office of the prime minister. [18] Since 2024 however, Sri Temasek has been the working office of the Prime Minister due to the ongoing renovations at The Istana, as confirmed by Lawrence Wong in his National Day Address. [19]
The prime minister is protected by the Specialised Security Command of the Singapore Police Force (SPF), who also ensure the protection of the president, Cabinet ministers, and visiting foreign dignitaries. [20]
The annual salary package the prime minister would receive, including the 13th-month bonus, Annual Variable Component, and National Bonus, which is twice the MR4 benchmark, stands at S$2.2 million.
As there is no one to decide on the annual performance bonus for the prime minister, the prime minister's bonus will be based only on the National Bonus. [21] The prime minister is also on the Medisave-cum-Subsidised Outpatient (MSO) scheme—where an additional 2% of their gross monthly salary will be credited into their Medisave account. [22]
The prime minister's annual salary was S$3.07 million before a salary review in 2011. [23] On 21 May 2011, a committee was set by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, to review the salaries of the prime minister as well as the president, ministers, members of Parliament and other political officeholders. [24] After the recommended wage reductions by the committee were accepted in Parliament, the prime minister's salary was reduced by 36%—including the removal of his pension to S$2.2 million or approximately US$1.7 million at that time. [23]
Nonetheless, Singapore's prime minister remains the world's highest-paid political leader. [25]
No. | Portrait | Name Constituency (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Party | Election | Cabinet | President | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||||
1 | Lee Kuan Yew MP for Tanjong Pagar SMC (1923–2015) | 5 June 1959 | 28 November 1990 | 31 years, 176 days | PAP | 1959 | Lee K. I | Elizabeth II Queen of the United Kingdom (1959–1963) | ||
Putra of Perlis King of Malaysia (1963–1965) | ||||||||||
1963 | Lee K. II | |||||||||
Yusof Ishak (1965–1970) | ||||||||||
1968 | Lee K. III | |||||||||
Benjamin Sheares (1971–1981) | ||||||||||
1972 | Lee K. IV | |||||||||
1976 | Lee K. V | |||||||||
1980 | Lee K. VI | |||||||||
Devan Nair (1981–1985) | ||||||||||
1984 | Lee K. VII | |||||||||
Wee Kim Wee (1985–1993) | ||||||||||
1988 | Lee K. VIII | |||||||||
2 | Goh Chok Tong MP for Marine Parade GRC (born 1941) | 28 November 1990 | 12 August 2004 | 13 years, 258 days | PAP | — | Goh I | |||
1991 | Goh II | |||||||||
Ong Teng Cheong (1993–1999) | ||||||||||
1997 | Goh III | |||||||||
S. R. Nathan (1999–2011) | ||||||||||
2001 | Goh IV | |||||||||
3 | Lee Hsien Loong MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC (born 1952) | 12 August 2004 | 15 May 2024 | 19 years, 277 days | PAP | — | Lee H. I | |||
2006 | Lee H. II | |||||||||
2011 | Lee H. III | |||||||||
Tony Tan (2011–2017) | ||||||||||
2015 | Lee H. IV | |||||||||
Halimah Yacob (2017–2023) | ||||||||||
2020 | Lee H. V | |||||||||
Tharman Shanmugaratnam (since 2023) | ||||||||||
4 | Lawrence Wong MP for Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC (born 1972) | 15 May 2024 | Incumbent | 261 days | PAP | — | Wong |
Singapore is a parliamentary representative democratic republic in which 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 resembling by the Westminster system. Singapore has been described as being a de facto one-party state.
Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean statesman, politician, and lawyer who served as the Minister Mentor between 2004 to 2011, Senior Minister between 1990 to 2004 and first prime minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. He served as the secretary-general of the People's Action Party (PAP) from 1954 to 1992 and 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 transforming it into a highly developed country during his tenure.
A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by a single elected person who holds the office of "president", in practice, the presidency includes a much larger collective of people, such as chiefs of staff, advisers and other bureaucrats. Although often led by a single person, presidencies can also be of a collective nature, such as the presidency of the European Union is held on a rotating basis by the various national governments of the member states. Alternatively, the term presidency can also be applied to the governing authority of some churches, and may even refer to the holder of a non-governmental office of president in a corporation, business, charity, university, etc. or the institutional arrangement around them. For example, "the presidency of the Red Cross refused to support his idea." Rules and support to discourage vicarious liability leading to unnecessary pressure and the early termination of term have not been clarified. These may not be as yet supported by state let initiatives. Contributory liability and fraud may be the two most common ways to become removed from term of office and/or to prevent re-election.
A motion or vote of no confidence is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly as to whether an officer is deemed fit to continue to occupy their office. The no-confidence vote is a defining constitutional element of a parliamentary system, in which the government's/executive's mandate rests upon the continued support of the majority in the legislature. Systems differ in whether such a motion may be directed against the prime minister, against the Government, against individual cabinet ministers, against the cabinet as a whole, or some combination of the above.
Goh Chok Tong is a Singaporean former politician who served as the second prime minister of Singapore from 1990 to 2004 and as a senior minister of Singapore from 2004 to 2011. He served as the secretary-general of the People's Action Party (PAP) from 1992 to 2004 and was the member of Parliament (MP) for Marine Parade SMC from 1976 to 1988, and Marine Parade GRC from 1988 to 2020.
The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the South African National Defence Force. Between 1961 and 1994, the office of head of state was the state presidency.
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.
Lee Hsien Loong is a Singaporean politician and former brigadier-general who has been serving as a senior minister of Singapore since 2024, and previously as the third prime minister of Singapore from 2004 to 2024. He served as the secretary-general of the People's Action Party (PAP) from 2004 to 2024, and has been the member of Parliament (MP) for the Teck Ghee division of Ang Mo Kio GRC since 1991, and previously Teck Ghee SMC from 1984 and 1991.
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