Between 1959 and 1965, Singapore’s head of state was known as the Yang di-Pertuan Negara (Malay for “Head of State”). The post was created to replace the governor as head of state when Singapore attained self-governing status under British rule. When Singapore became an independent nation on 9 August 1965, the seat of Head of State was renamed Office of the President and Yusof bin Ishak, Singapore’s first Malayan-born Yang di-Pertuan Negara appointed since 1959, became the first president of the Republic of Singapore.1 The country’s first four presidents, who held office between 1965 and 1993, were appointed by parliament. They were Yusof, Benjamin Henry Sheares, C. V. Devan Nair and Wee Kim Wee.2 After the legislation on elected presidency came into effect on 30 November 1991, Singapore held its first presidential election on 28 August 1993 and Ong Teng Cheong became the country’s first elected president.3 He was succeeded by S. R. Nathan, who was elected unopposed in 1999 and 2005, and held office for two six-year terms.4 Tony Tan Keng Yam, who won the fourth presidential election held on 27 August 2011, was sworn in as Singapore’s seventh president on 1 September the following month.5 The current president of Singapore is Halimah Yacob, who was sworn in on 14 September 2017. Show History of presidency in Singapore Yusof became Singapore’s first Malayan-born Yang di-Pertuan Negara on 3 December 1959.8 As head of state, he was the British Queen’s representative. When Singapore became a constituent state of the Federation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963, Yusof was reappointed Yang di-Pertuan Negara of Singapore by then Malaysia’s head of state, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, on 4 December 1963 for another four-year term. He was then a representative of Malaysia’s head of state.9 When Singapore became an independent nation on 9 August 1965, the title of its head of state was changed from Yang di-Pertuan Negara to that of President.10 Yusof was subsequently sworn in as the first president of the Republic of Singapore, henceforth representing the citizens of Singapore.11 From 1965 to 1991, the president was appointed by the Singapore Parliament for a term of four years and had a largely ceremonial role.12 On 30 November 1991, the amendment to the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore on elected presidency came into effect. Under the amended constitution, the president is to be elected by the citizens of Singapore.13 In addition, the elected president has discretionary powers relating to the safeguarding of national reserves, as well as the appointment of key personnel in the public sector and certain government-owned companies.14 The amended constitution also provides for a Council of Presidential Advisers to advise the president on the exercise of his powers on matters relating to national reserves and key appointments.15 Each elected president will hold office for a six-year term and there is no term limit to the presidency. The creation of an elected presidency in Singapore in 1991 represented a major constitutional and political change in the country’s history at the time.16 Presidents appointed by Parliament Yusof died of heart failure on 23 November 1970 at the age of 60 during his second term as president.19 Benjamin Henry Sheares Sheares died on 12 May 1981 during his third term as president after having been in a coma for five days.22 C. V. Devan Nair Nair became the first president to resign from office when he tendered his resignation in March 1985, about seven months before the end of his term as president on 23 October.24 His resignation was announced in parliament on 28 March, during which a statement was made to explain that he had developed symptoms of extreme weakness and exhaustion associated with mental confusion and bizarre behaviour when he was in Sarawak earlier that month. Upon his return to Singapore, Nair was examined by a panel of six doctors who concluded that he was suffering from alcoholism. In view of his own medical condition, Nair decided to tender his resignation as president of Singapore.25 Wee Kim Wee Wee became the first president vested with the powers of an elected president when the legislation on elected presidency came into effect on 30 November 1991.28 Wee retired from office when his second term ended on 1 September 1993.29 He was the last president appointed by parliament as the legislation on elected presidency came into effect during his second term in office.30 Wee did not run for the first presidential election as he was getting on in years and also did not want to subject himself to the vote.31 Elected presidents Polling was held on 28 August 1993 and 57-year-old Ong, who received 58.7 percent of the valid votes, won the election.34 He was sworn in as the first president elected by the people of Singapore on 1 September 1993.35 Ong, who was the fifth president of Singapore, held office for six years. When his term as president ended on 31 August 1999, Ong decided not to run for a second term and retired from office.36 S. R.
Nathan On 17 August 2005, Nathan was again elected unopposed and he continued as president for a second six-year term, making him the longest-serving president in Singapore’s history.38 Nathan was 87 years old by the end of his second term in office and he decided not to run for a third term in view of his age.39 Tony Tan Keng Yam Polling for this presidential election – considered the most hard-fought in Singapore’s history – took place on 27 August 2011.41 Tan garnered 35.2 percent of the votes, followed by Tan Cheng Bock’s 34.8 percent, Tan Jee Say’s 25 percent and Tan Kin Lian’s 4.9 percent.42 Seventy-one-year-old Tan was sworn in as the seventh president of the Republic of Singapore on 1 September 2011.43 He stepped down on 31 August 2017 after serving one term.44 Halimah Yacob Singapore’s
presidents Author Cheryl SimReferences 2. “Former Presidents,” President’s Office, accessed 31 May 2013. 3. “All the President’s Powers,” Straits Times, 30 December 1991, 14 (From NewspaperSG); Peter H. L. Lim, ed., Chronicle of Singapore: Fifty Years of Headline News 1959–2009 (Singapore: Editions Didier Millet in association with National Library Board, 2009), 250. (Call no. RSING 959.5705 CHR-[HIS]) 4. S. R. Nathan and Timothy Auger, An Unexpected Journey: Path to the Presidency (Singapore: Editions Didier Millet, 2011), 617 (Call no. RSING 959.5705092 NAT-[HIS]); Lim, Chronicle of Singapore, 324. 5. “Tony Tan Keng Yam,” President’s Office, accessed 3 October 2017; Susan Tsang and Audrey Perera, Singapore at Random (Singapore: Editions Didier Millet, 2011), 126. (Call no. RSING 959.57 TSA-[HIS]) 6. Sng, “Men and Presidents,” 116, 118; Ministry of Communications and Information, “Towards Self Government,” accessed 31 May 2013; Li Xueying and Jeremy Au Yong, “24 Hours That Changed Singapore,” Straits Times, 30 May 2009, 95. (From NewspaperSG) 7. Parliament of Singapore, Election of President of Republic of Singapore, 407; “Goode Becomes Head of State,” Singapore Free Press, 3 June 1959, 1. (From NewspaperSG) 8. “Yusof Head of State,” Straits Times, 2 December 1959, 1 (From NewspaperSG); Parliament of Singapore, Election of President of Republic of Singapore, 407. 9. Parliament of Singapore, Election of President of Republic of Singapore, 407–8. 10. Parliament of Singapore, Election of President of Republic of Singapore, 407–8; “Historic Years,” Straits Times, 24 November 1974, 10. (From NewspaperSG) 11. “Encik Yusof Ishak,” President's Office, accessed 25 January 2013; Parliament of Singapore, Election of President of Republic of Singapore, 408. 12. “The Presidency,” President’s Office, accessed 31 May 2013; “President in Office,” President’s Office, 31 May 2013; Kevin Tan, “The Presidency in Singapore: Constitutional Developments,” in Managing Political Change in Singapore: The Elected Presidency, ed. Kevin Tan and Lam Peng Er (New York: Routledge, 1997), 86. (Call no. RSING 320.95957 MAN) 13. “All the President’s Powers”; President’s Office, “President in Office”; Parliament of Singapore, Presidential Elections Bill, vol. 58 of Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 29 July 1991, col. 229 (Call no. RCLOS 328.5957 SIN) 14. President’s Office, “President in Office.” 15. “Council of Presidential Advisers,” President's Office, accessed 10 April 2014. 16. President’s Office, “President in Office.” 17. President's Office, “Encik Yusof Ishak”; Lim, Chronicle of Singapore, 107. 18. President's Office, “Encik Yusof Ishak.” 19. Tommy Koh et al., eds., Singapore: The Encyclopedia (Singapore: Editions Didier Millet and National Heritage Board, 2006), 605. (Call no. RSING 959.57003 SIN-[HIS]) 20. Parliament of Singapore, Election of President of Republic of Singapore, vol. 30 of Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 30 December 1970, cols. 378–82 (Call no. RSING 328.5957 SIN); Poteik Chia, “Sheares to Be President,” Straits Times, 27 December 1970, 1. (From NewspaperSG) 21. Parliament of Singapore, Election of President of Republic of Singapore, 379; “Sheares Elected to Second Term of Office,” Straits Times, 7 November 1974, 1; “Unanimous Support for Sheares' Re-election,” Straits Times, 30 December 1978, 16. (From NewspaperSG) 22. Lim, Chronicle of Singapore, 171. 23. President's Office, “Devan Nair,” 25 January 2013; “Now He’s President Nair,” Straits Times, 25 October 1981, 1. (From NewspaperSG) 24. Parliament of Singapore, Resignation of MR C V Devan Nair President of the Republic of Singapore, vol. 45 of Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 28 March 1985, col. 1684 (Call no. RSING 328.5957 SIN); Alan John, “President Resigns,” Straits Times, 29 March 1985, 1. (From NewspaperSG) 25. Parliament of Singapore, Resignation of MR C V Devan Nair, cols. 1684–6. 26. President's Office, “Wee Kim Wee,” accessed 25 January 2013; “All Ayes for Kim Wee as President,” Straits Times, 31 August 1985, 1. (From NewspaperSG) 27. Irene Hoe, “30 Seconds Later, Our New President,” Straits Times, 3 September 1985, 1 (From NewspaperSG); President's Office, “Wee Kim Wee”; Parliament of Singapore, Election of President, vol. 54 of Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 31 August 1989, col. 498. (Call no. RSING 328.5957 SIN) 28. President's Office, “President in Office”; “All the President’s Powers.” 29. Zuraidah Ibrahim, “Thank You, President Wee,” Straits Times, 1 September 1993, 1 (From NewspaperSG); Parliament of Singapore, Election of President, 498. 30. President's Office, “President in Office.” 31. “He Was Govt’s First Choice for Elected President,” Straits Times, 1 September 1993, 1. (From NewspaperSG) 32. Lim, Chronicle of Singapore, 250; Parliament of Singapore, Presidential Elections Bill, 230; “Teng Cheong, Chua Can Run for President; Jeya Rejected,” (1993, August 17). Straits Times, 17 August 1993, 3. (From NewspaperSG) 33. Parliament of Singapore, Presidential Elections Bill, 230; President’s Office, “Ong Teng Cheong,” accessed 25 January 2013; Lim, Chronicle of Singapore, 250. 34. Bertha Henson, “1.75m People Go to the Polls Today to Elect President,” Straits Times, 28 August 1993, 1 (From NewspaperSG); Lim, Chronicle of Singapore, 250. 35. Sumiko Tan, “How I Will Do My Job: President Ong,” Straits Times, 2 September 1993, 1. (From NewspaperSG) 36. President's Office, “President in Office”; Lim, Chronicle of Singapore, 286. 37. Nathan and Auger, Unexpected Journey, 553, 617. 38. Lim, Chronicle of Singapore, 324; ElginToh, “‘I Won’t seek 3rd Term’: President Nathan to Step Down after 12 Years in Office,” Straits Times, 2 July 2011, 1. (From NewspaperSG) 39. Toh, “‘Won’t seek 3rd Term’”; President’s Office, “S R Nathan.” 40. Tsang and Perera, Singapore at Random, 12. 41. Tsang and Perera, Singapore at Random, 12. 42. Li Xueying, “Tony Tan Is President,” Straits Times, 28 August 2011, 1. (From NewspaperSG) 43. President’s Office, “Tony Tan Keng Yam,” accessed 1 September 2017. 44. L. Chia, “Saying Goodbye: President Tony Tan's Last Day in Office,” Channel NewsAsia, 1 September 2017. (From Factiva via NLB’s eResources website) 45. “President’s Biography,” President’s Office, 15 September 2017; “Next Presidential Election to Be Reserved for Malay Candidates: PM Lee,” Channel NewsAsia, 8 November 2016; M, Zhu, “Who is Halimah Yacob, Singapore’s First Female President?” Channel NewsAsia, 13 September 2017. (From Factiva via NLB’s eResources website) 46. President's Office, “Encik Yusof Ishak”; Lim, Chronicle of Singapore, 107. 47. Parliament of Singapore, Election of President, 379; Lim, Chronicle of Singapore, 171. 48. “Now He’s President Nair,” Straits Times, 25 October 1981, 1 (From NewspaperSG); Parliament of Singapore, Resignation of MR C V Devan Nair, co. 1684. 49. Hoe, “30 Seconds Later”; Ibrahim, “Thank You, President Wee.” 50. Tan, “How I Will Do My Job”; President's Office, “President in Office.” 51. Nathan and Auger, Unexpected Journey, 617; Lim, Chronicle of Singapore, 324; President's Office, “President in Office.” 52. President’s Office, “Tony Tan Keng Yam.”Further resources National Library Board, Singapore, Benjamin Sheares becomes Second President of Singapore, HistorySG, published 2014. Retrieved from HistorySG. Is the president elected for 5 years?The President holds office for a period of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office and, accordingly, an election is due to be held this year (2017) to elect the new President before the expiration of the term of the incumbent President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, on 24th July, 2017.
How is the president elected?An absolute majority is necessary to prevail in the presidential and the vice presidential elections, that is, half the total plus one electoral votes are required. With 538 Electors, a candidate must receive at least 270 votes to be elected to the office of President or Vice President.
Who elect president in Singapore?Article 17A(1) of the Constitution provides that "[t]he President is to be elected by the citizens of Singapore in accordance with any law made by the Legislature".
|