President of Singapore
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The President of the Republic of Singapore is the nation's head of state. In parliamentary systems like the Westminster system, which Singapore employs, the Prime Minister is the head of the government while the position of President is largely ceremonial. Before 1993, the President was elected by Parliament, with executive power remaining with the Prime Minister.
The President is a constitutional head of state, with duties similar to those of the
The office of President was created in 1965 after Singapore became a Republic upon its
secession from the
In January 1991, the Constitution of Singapore[1] was amended to provide for the popular election of the President, who would have the power to veto appointments in the civil service and the use of government reserves. The creation of the popularly elected presidency is a major constitutional and political change in Singapore's history as, under the revision, the President is empowered to veto the government's budget and appointments to public office. He can also examine the administration's enforcement of the Internal Security Act and religious harmony laws, 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
In 1996, the government again limited the powers of the president, when it was decided that a presidential veto can be overridden with a two-thirds majority in Parliament.
The incumbent President is Sellapan Ramanathan (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
Qualifications
To be qualified to be elected President, a person must satisfy the following requirements:
- He or she must be a
citizen of Singapore .[3] - He or she must not be less than 45 years of age.[4]
- His or her name must appear in a current register of electors.[5]
- He or she must be resident in Singapore at the date of his or her nomination for election and must have been so resident for periods amounting in the aggregate to not less than ten years prior to that date.[6]
- He or she must not be subject to any of the following disqualifications:[7]
-
- (a) being and having been found or declared to be of unsound mind;
- (b) being an undischarged bankrupt;
- (c) holding an office of profit;
- (d) having been nominated for election to Parliament or the office of President or having acted as election agent to a person so nominated, failing to lodge any return of election expenses required by law within the time and in the manner so required;
- (e) having been convicted of an offence by a court of law in Singapore or Malaysia and sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than one year or to a fine of not less than S$2,000 and having not received a free pardon, provided that where the conviction is by a court of law in Malaysia, the person shall not be disqualified unless the offence is also one which, had it been committed in Singapore, would have been punishable by a court of law in Singapore;[8]
- (f) having voluntarily acquired the citizenship of, or exercised rights of citizenship in, a foreign country, or having made a declaration of allegiance to a foreign country;[9]
- (g) being disqualified under any law relating to offences in connection with elections to Parliament or the office of President by reason of having been convicted of such an offence or having in proceedings relating to such an election been proved guilty of an act constituting such an offence.
- He or she must satisfy the Presidential Elections Committee that he or she is a person of integrity, good character and reputation.[10]
- He or she must not a member of any political party on the date of his or her nomination for election.[11]
- He or she must have for a period of not less than three years held office —
- as
Minister , Chief Justice, Speaker,Attorney-General , Chairman of thePublic Service Commission , Auditor-General, Accountant-General orPermanent Secretary ;[12] - as chairman or chief executive officer of the
Central Provident Fund Board , the Housing and Development Board, the Jurong Town Corporation or the Monetary Authority of Singapore;[13] - as chairman of the board of directors or chief executive officer of a company incorporated or registered under the Companies Act[14] with a paid-up capital of at least S$100 million or its equivalent in foreign currency;[15] or
- in any other similar or comparable position of seniority and responsibility in any other organization or department of equivalent size or complexity in the public or private sector which, in the opinion of the Presidential Elections Committee, has given him or her such experience and ability in administering and managing financial affairs as to enable him or her to carry out effectively the functions and duties of the office of President.[16]
- as
Disabilities
Once elected, the President shall —
- not hold any other office created or recognized by the Singapore Constitution;
- not actively engage in any commercial enterprise;
- not be a member of any political party; and
- if he or she is a member of Parliament, vacate his or her seat in Parliament.[17]
Term of office
The President holds office for a term of six years from the date on which he 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:[18]
| “ | I, [name], having been elected President of the Republic of Singapore, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully discharge my duties as such to be best of my ability without fear or favour, affection or ill-will, and without regard to any previous affiliation with any political party, and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Republic, and that I will preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore. | ” |
Maintenance: The Civil List
The Legislature of Singapore is required to provide a Civil List for the maintenance of
the President,[19] and it does so by way of the Civil
List and Pension Act.[20] 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
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.[21]
Presidential Elections Committee
The 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.[22]
The Committee consists of:[23]
- the Chairman of the
Public Service Commission , who is also the Chairman of the Presidential Elections Committee;[24] - the Chairman of the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority; and
- a member of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights nominated by the Chairman of the Council.
For the
Latest election
The election of 2005, just like that of 1999, did not take place. After the Presidential Elections Committee had disqualified all other contestants, Sellapan Ramanathan was declared president. Summary of the 27 August 2005 Singapore presidential election results |- !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left width=450|Candidate !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Votes |- |align=left|Sellapan Ramanathan |align="right" |without ballot |}
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| Presidents of the Republic of Singapore |
List of Presidents of the Republic of Singapore
- 1965–1970:
Yusof bin Ishak (1910–1970) - 1970–1981:
Benjamin Henry Sheares (1907–1981) - 1981–1985:
C.V. Devan Nair (1923–2005) - 1985–1993:
Wee Kim Wee (1915–2005) - 1993–1999: Ong Teng Cheong (1936–2002)
- 1999–present: Sellapan Ramanathan (born 1924, became President unchallenged in 1999, and again in 2005 after other candidates failed to receive the Certificate of Eligibility to stand for elections.)
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.
Presidential portrait gallery
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Notes
Further reading
- Tan, Kevin Y.L. (Yew Lee); Lam Peng Er (eds.) (1997). Managing Political Change in Singapore : The Elected Presidency. Singapore: Routledge. ISBN 0415156327.
External links
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