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The President of the Republic of Singapore is Singapore's head of state. In a Westminster parliamentary system, which Singapore possesses, the prime minister is the head of the government while the position of president is largely ceremonial. Before 1993, the President of Singapore was appointed by Parliament. Following constitutional changes brought into force in 1991, the President became a popularly-elected post. The first elected President was Ong Teng Cheong, who served from 1 September 1993 to 31 August 1999. The current President of Singapore is S.R. Nathan, who first became the head of state in 18 August 1999 and is presently serving his second term of office. The President is a ceremonial head of state broadly analogous to the British monarch, but the 1991 constitutional amendments gave the President certain reserve powers over government expenditure of financial reserves and appointments to key public offices. The President's official residence is the Istana.
[edit] HistoryThe office of President was created in 1965 after Singapore became a republic upon its secession from the Federation of Malaysia that year. It replaced the office of Yang di-Pertuan Negara, which had been created when Singapore attained self-government in 1959. The last Yang di-Pertuan Negara, Yusof bin Ishak, became the first President. He was replaced by Benjamin Henry Sheares after his death, who served as President until his death in 1981, when he was succeeded by Chengara Veetil Devan Nair. Owing to personal problems, Nair stepped down in 1985 and was replaced by Wee Kim Wee, who served as President until 1993. In January 1991, the Constitution of Singapore[1] was amended to provide for the popular election of the President. The creation of the elected presidency was a major constitutional and political change in Singapore's history as, under the revision, the President is empowered to veto the use of government reserves and appointments to key civil service appointments. He or she can also examine the administration's enforcement of the Internal Security Act[2] and Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act,[3] and look into investigations of corruption. The first and only directly-elected President was Ong Teng Cheong, a former cabinet minister. He served as President from 1 September 1993 to 31 August 1999. By virtue of transitional provisions in the Singapore Constitution,[4] although Ong's predecessor Wee Kim Wee was not elected as President, because he held the office of President immediately prior to 30 November 1991 he exercised, performed and discharged all the functions, powers and duties of an elected president as if he had been elected to the office of President by the citizens of Singapore until Ong Teng Cheong took office as President. In 1996, the government limited the powers of the President, when it amended the Constitution to provide that a presidential veto can be overridden with a two-thirds majority in Parliament. The incumbent President is Sellapan Ramanathan, widely known as S.R. Nathan. He was not directly elected by the people, but became the President by virtue of being the sole candidate deemed qualified by the Presidential Elections Committee. His first term of office was from 18 August 1999 to 31 August 2005. He was re-elected after a walkover on 17 August 2005. His current term of office will expire in 2011. [edit] Qualifications
To be qualified to be elected President, a person must satisfy the following requirements:
[edit] Disabilities
Once elected, the President shall —
[edit] Term of officeThe President holds office for a term of six years from the date on which he or she assumes office. The person elected to the office of President assumes office on the day his or her predecessor ceases to hold office or, if the office is vacant, on the day following his or her election. Upon his or her assumption of office, the President is required to take and subscribe in the presence of the Chief Justice or of another Justice of the Supreme Court the Oath of Office, which states:[20]
[edit] Maintenance: The Civil ListThe Legislature of Singapore is required to provide a Civil List for the maintenance of the President,[21] and it does so by way of the Civil List and Pension Act.[22] For the fiscal year 2006, the President's personal pay, known by the British term the "privy purse", is S$2,661,700, an increase from the previous figure of S$2,507,200, while his entertainment allowance is S$132,000, up from S$117,000. The amount set aside for expenses at the Istana is S$1,301,500 up from S$1,108,500. Minister of State (Finance) Lim Hwee Hua told Parliament on 23 January 2007 that the increases were "in view of higher bonuses and higher expenditure on utilities". Expenditure on personal staff and special services has been lowered by S$8,800 for personal staff and by S$28,300 for special services such as the purchase of cars and office equipment.[23] [edit] Election[edit] Presidential Elections CommitteeThe Presidential Elections Committee is established by Article 18 of the Constitution. Its function is to ensure that candidates for the office of President have the qualifications referred to in Article 19 of the Constitution.[24] The Committee consists of:[25]
For the Singapore Presidential Election of 2005, the members of the Presidential Elections Committee were Dr. Andrew Chew Guan Khuan (Chairman), Lim Siong Guan and H.R. Hochstadt.[27] [edit] Latest electionDuring the election of 2005, just like that of 1999, no balloting was held. As the Presidential Elections Committee determined that no other candidates satisfied the qualifications prescribed by the Constitution, S.R. Nathan was declared President unopposed.
[edit] List of Presidents of the Republic of Singapore
Prior to the introduction of elections for the Presidency, between 1965 and 1993 the Presidents of Singapore were Malay, Eurasian, Indian and Chinese in turn. While there might have been some general expectation that a system of rotation among the ethnic groups in Singapore would have continued to apply, this possibility was put to rest by the introduction of an elected Presidency in 1991. There are no constitutional provisions specifying that such system should apply. All the Presidents of Singapore to date have been men. Nonetheless, in a 2008 poll of 1,256 Singaporeans conducted by MyMailMoment.com, a lifestyle research portal run by Singapore Telecommunications, 63% of women respondents and 58% of male respondents said they would vote for a female president. Those aged 50 and older were the most receptive to the idea.[28] [edit] Notes
[edit] Further reading
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