The President of Singapore is the head of state of the Republic of Singapore. Preceded by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara of Singapore, the office of president was created on 22 December 1965 after Singapore's independence in August 1965, with Yang di-Pertuan Negara Yusof Ishak serving as the first president. Under the Constitution, presidents must be a Singaporean citizen,Constitution, Art. 19(2)(a) non-partisan,Constitution, Art. 19(2)(f) and elected by a popular vote.Constitution, Art. 17A
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. 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. 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.Constitution, Art. 19B
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.Constitution, Art. 37IE The president also represents the country at official diplomatic functions, with a 2023 constitutional amendment allowing the president to take up appointments internationally which are of interest of Singapore.
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. Two presidents, Yusof Ishak and Benjamin Sheares, have died in office; one president, Devan Nair, has resigned mid-term; and the longest serving president is S. R. Nathan, at 12 years over two terms.
List of presidents No.PortraitNameTerm of officeElectionPrime Minister Took office Left office Time in office1Yusof Ishak9 August196523 November1970—Lee Kuan Yew1967—Yeoh Ghim Seng23 November19702 January1971—2Benjamin Sheares2 January197112 May1981197019741978—Wee Chong Jin12 May198114 May1981——Yeoh Ghim Seng14 May198123 October1981—3Devan Nair23 October198128 March19851981—Wee Chong Jin28 March198531 March1985——Yeoh Ghim Seng31 March19852 September1985—4Wee Kim Wee2 September19851 September199319851989Goh Chok Tong5Ong Teng Cheong1 September19931 September1999 years19936S. R. Nathan1 September19991 September2011 years1999Lee Hsien Loong20057Tony Tan1 September20111 September2017 years2011—J. Y. Pillay1 September201714 September2017—8Halimah Yacob14 September201714 September2023 years20179Tharman Shanmugaratnam14 September2023Incumbent2023Lawrence Wong
Timeline
See also
Politics of Singapore Presidential elections in Singapore Spouse of the president of Singapore
References Notes
Citations
Legislation
Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (1985 Rev. Ed., 1999 Reprint)