The president of Singapore, officially 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.
After Singapore achieved full internal self-governance from the British Empire in 1959, the ceremonial office of the Yang di-Pertuan Negara () was created and first held by William Goode, the prior governor of Singapore. The office was later succeeded by the president of Singapore following Singapore's independence from Malaysia in 1965. The initial role of the president was predominantly a ceremonial institution, serving as the representative of the Singaporean state both at home and abroad. It carried limited residual powers, and prior to 1991, the president was solely appointed by the parliament of Singapore. Singapore follows a non-executive model of the Westminster parliamentary system whereby the president is not the head of government but rather the head of state; political power is instead vested in the Cabinet, which is led by the prime minister.
A constitutional amendment in 1991 introduced the direct election of the president by popular vote, first implemented in the 1993 election. Since then, the elected president has held significant custodial powers, including the reserve power to veto any government budget that, in their judgement and after mandatory consultation with the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA), would draw on the country's past financial reserves that was accrued under previous governments as part of a check and balance framework. The president also has the power to veto the removal or appointment of key public service, statutory board and government office holders listed in the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution.
Another amendment in 2016 introduced reserved presidential elections for an ethnic community in Singapore if no member of that community had served as president in the preceding five terms. The office has no term limits. The president has far-reaching formal obligations to act above party politics. Under the Constitution, the president must be a Singaporean citizen, non-partisan and elected by popular vote. The incumbent president is Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who took office on 14 September 2023 after being elected in the 2023 presidential election with 70.41% of the vote.
History The office of the President of the Republic of Singapore was created on 22 December 1965, retrospective to 9 August 1965, on which Singapore achieved independence from Malaysia. It succeeded the office of Yang di-Pertuan Negara () which was created when Singapore attained full internal self-government from the British Empire in 1959. The last Yang di-Pertuan Negara, Yusof Ishak, became the first President. After his death in 1970, he was succeeded by Benjamin Sheares in 1971 who was appointed by Parliament and served until his death in 1981.
Sheares was succeeded by Devan Nair, who had been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Anson Constituency since 1979; Nair resigned in 1985. Whilst officially said to have resigned for his alcoholism, he disputed the account, claiming that he was forced out of office by former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. Nair was succeeded by Wee Kim Wee, the Singaporean ambassador to South Korea and Japan from 1980 to 1984.
Wee served as the President for two terms from 1985 to 1993. For the ensuing presidential election in 1993, the first in Singapore to be decided by popular vote, Wee decided not to contest and retired after his second term had ended. Wee was the first president to exercise custodial powers pursuant to the 1991 constitutional amendments allowing so.
Elected presidency In the early 1980s, the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), which had held every parliamentary seat in Singapore since the 1960s, suffered its first electoral setback in almost two decades when J. B. Jeyaretnam of the Workers' Party (WP) won the 1981 Anson by-election. Following this loss, then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew expressed concern about the possibility of a "freak election result" in which the PAP might lose its parliamentary majority, allowing opposition parties what he described as "unfettered access" to the nation's reserves.
As such, in January 1991, a constitutional amendment was passed by Parliament to redefine the role of the president. The amendment provided that the president would be elected by a popular vote, subject to strict eligibility requirements. The president was also empowered by the amendment to veto the use of the country's reserves and revoke or appoint public service appointments. The president can also examine the government's usage of the Internal Security Act. and Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act, ("MRHA"). and concur with the director of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) to investigate persons for corrupt practices, even if the prime minister refuses consent.
The first elected president was Ong Teng Cheong, who served as Deputy Prime Minister from 1985 to 1993 prior to his presidency, won the 1993 presidential election. He served as president from 1993 to 1999. The Singapore Government officially regarded Ong's predecessor Wee Kim Wee as the first elected president on the basis that he held and exercised the powers of the elected president. This was a result of transitional provisions in the Constitution of Singapore in 2017,Constitution, Art. 163(1). which were affirmed by the High Court following a legal challenge by then-presidential candidate Tan Cheng Bock. Tan appealed against this decision, but the appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal.
The sixth and the oldest to become president was S. R. Nathan, who served as the Ambassador of the United States from 1990 to 1996 prior to his presidency. He ran unopposed, and became president by virtue of being the sole candidate deemed qualified by the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC). He served his first term of office from 1999 to 2005 before being re-elected unopposed again for a second term, and he served until 2011.
After S. R. Nathan stepped down, Tony Tan, who served as Deputy Prime Minister from 1995 to 2005 prior to his presidency, won the 2011 presidential election by a narrow margin in a four-cornered fight. He was sworn in as the seventh president of Singapore on 1 September 2011. Ong Teng Cheong, Tony Tan, and Tharman Shanmugaratnam are the only Deputy Prime Ministers who became presidents.
In 2016, further amendments to the Constitution were passed providing for "reserved elections" for a particular ethnic community, if that community has not provided a president in the past five presidential terms. The eighth president, Halimah Yacob, who served as Speaker of Parliament from 2013 to 2017, prior to her presidency, took office on 14 September 2017. She was the sole eligible candidate under the new reform terms which took effect earlier that year. Yacob was also the first Malay head of state since Yusof, who died while in office 47 years prior. Yacob was also the first female president. Ethnic identity for the purposes of participating in a reserved election requires both self-identification and approval by a committee set up by the government, rather than being based on specific guidelines.
On 1 September 2023, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who served as Deputy Prime Minister from 2011 to 2019, and Senior Minister from 2019 to 2023, prior to his presidency, won the 2023 presidential election and was elected the ninth president of Singapore after receiving 70.41% of the votes cast. In November 2023, the parliament of Singapore passed a bill to amend the constitution to allow the President of Singapore to hold international positions in their private capacity, only if the position is of national interest.
Constitutional role The president is the head of state of Singapore.Constitution, Art. 17(1). In addition to being the head of state, it is also the function of the president to safeguard the national reserves and the integrity of the public service of Singapore.Constitution, Art. 17(2). The executive authority of Singapore is vested in the president and exercisable by them or by the Cabinet or any minister authorised by the Cabinet.Constitution, Art. 23(1). However, the Constitution vests "general direction and control of the Government" in the Cabinet.Constitution, Art. 24(2). In most cases, the president is bound to exercise their powers in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet or of a minister acting under the general authority of the Cabinet.Constitution, Art. 21(1).
However, the president is able to exercise some powers in their personal discretionConstitution, Art. 21(2). such as preventing the government of the day from drawing on the reserves which were not accumulated during its current term of office; revoking or appointing any of the public offices under Article 22 of the Constitution such as Chief Justice, Attorney-General, Chief of Defence Force, and Commissioner of Police, amongst others;Constitution, Art. 22. exercising oversight over the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB); and decisions of the Executive under the Internal Security Act and the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act.
As a component of the legislature together with the parliament, the president is also jointly vested with legislative authority.Constitution, Art. 38. The president's primary role in the exercise of legislative power to make laws is assenting to bills passed by Parliament.Constitution, Art. 58(1).
As the president exercises this constitutional function in accordance with the Cabinet's advice and not in their personal discretion except in certain circumstances,Constitution, Art. 21(2)(c). they may not refuse to assent to bills that Parliament has validly passed. The words of enactment in Singapore Statutes are: "Be it enacted by the president with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows:".Constitution, Art. 60. The president usually opens each parliamentary session with an address drafted by the Cabinet setting out the government's agenda for the session,, Standing Order 15(1). and may address Parliament and send messages to it.Constitution, Art. 62.
The president has been called "Singapore's No. 1 diplomat".. Ambassadors and high commissioners accredited to Singapore present their credentials to the president, and the president is called upon by visiting foreign dignitaries. In addition, the president contributes to the nation's external relations by undertaking overseas trips on Cabinet's advice. The president also serves as the ex officio chancellor of both the National University of Singapore and the Nanyang Technological University.
Presidents have also used the office to champion charitable causes. Wee Kim Wee promoted sports and volunteerism; Ong Teng Cheong promoted culture and the arts, particularly music; and S. R. Nathan established the President's Challenge with the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports and its statutory board, the National Council of Social Service. As of 2011, the endeavour had raised more than S$100 million for charities supporting disabled and needy people.
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