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] 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] Devan Nair was the first president to resign mid-term.[14] S. R. Nathan was the longest serving president, serving as president for 12 years.[15]
| No. | Portrait | Name | Prior office | Term of office | Election | Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||||
| 1 | Yusof Ishak | Yang di-Pertuan Negara | 1965 | 1970 | – | Elected by Parliament | ||||
| 1967 | ||||||||||
| Speaker of Parliament Yeoh Ghim Seng as Acting President | [16] | |||||||||
| 2 | Benjamin Sheares | Physician, academic | 1971 | 1981 | 1970 | Elected by Parliament | ||||
| 1974 | ||||||||||
| 1978 | ||||||||||
| Chief Justice Wee Chong Jin as Acting President | [17] [18] | |||||||||
| Speaker of Parliament Yeoh Ghim Seng as Acting President | ||||||||||
| 3 | Devan Nair | 1981 | 1985 | 1981 | Elected by Parliament | [19] | ||||
| Chief Justice Wee Chong Jin as Acting President | [20] | |||||||||
| Speaker of Parliament Yeoh Ghim Seng as Acting President | ||||||||||
| 4 | Wee Kim Wee | Ambassador-at-Large | 1985 | 1993 | 1985 | Elected by Parliament | ||||
| 1989 | ||||||||||
| 5 | Ong Teng Cheong | Deputy Prime Minister | 1993 | 1999 | years | 1993 | 952,513 (58.69%) | [21] | ||
| 6 | Sellapan Ramanathan | Ambassador-at-Large | 1999 | 2011 | years | 1999 | Uncontested | |||
| 2005 | ||||||||||
| 7 | Tony Tan Keng Yam | Deputy Prime Minister | 2011 | 2017 | years | 2011 | 745,693 (35.20%) | [22] | ||
| Chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers J. Y. Pillay as Acting President | [23] | |||||||||
| 8 | Halimah Yacob | Speaker of Parliament | 2017 | 2023 | years | 2017 | Uncontested | [24] | ||
| 9 | Tharman Shanmugaratnam | 2023 | Incumbent | 2023 | 1,749,261 (70.41%) | [25] | ||||