President of Singapore

The president of Singapore, officially the President of the Republic of Singapore,^[a] 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 (lit. 'Lord of the State') was created, where it was first held by the governor of Singapore William Goode. 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 largely ceremonial and symbolic, carrying limited residual powers; 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; these powers are 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.^[b] The office has no term limits.

The president has far-reaching formal obligations and duty to act above party politics. Under the Constitution, the president must be a Singaporean citizen, non-partisan, and elected by a popular vote. The incumbent president is Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who took office on 14 September 2023 after being duly elected in the 2023 presidential election with 70.41% of the vote.
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