• Top left:S. R. Nathan was the longest serving president of Singapore.
• Top right:Halimah Yacob was thefirst female president of Singapore.
• Bottom left:Ong Teng Cheong was the first president to be elected by popular vote.
• Bottom right:Tharman Shanmugaratnam is the incumbent president of Singapore.

ThePresident of Singapore is thehead of state of theRepublic of Singapore. Preceded by theYang di-Pertuan Negara, the office of president was created on 22 December 1965 afterSingapore's independence in August 1965, with Yang di-Pertuan NegaraYusof Ishak serving as the first president.^[1][2] Under theConstitution, presidents must be aSingaporean citizen,^[3]non-partisan,^[4] and elected by apopular vote.^[5]

Originally elected byParliament, a 1991constitutional amendment was made to allow for the president to bedirectly elected by a popular vote, with the1993 presidential election betweenOng Teng Cheong andChua Kim Yeow being the first time a president was directly elected by popular vote.^[6][5] Singapore follows anon-executive model of theWestminsterparliamentary system where the president serves as the head of state, separate to thehead of government which is instead served by theCabinet, led by theprime minister.^[7] In 2016, a second constitutional amendment was made that allowed for a presidential election to be reserved for anethnic community in Singapore if no one from that community had served as president for the last five presidential terms.^[8][9]

The role of the president was originally ceremonial and symbolic, carrying residual powers, however therole was later given executive powers such as thereserve power toveto certainbills, most notably in relation to Singapore'sreserves as acheck and balance process as well as revoking and appointing public service appointments among other powers listed in the Constitution.^[10][11] 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.^[12]

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.^[13] Two presidents,Yusof Ishak andBenjamin Sheares, have died in office;^[14][15] one president,Devan Nair, has resigned mid-term;^[16] and the longest serving president isS. R. Nathan, at 12 years over two terms.^[17]

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No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Election[a]	Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Yusof Ishak (1910–1970)	9 August 1965	23 November 1970[b]	5 years, 106 days[c]	[d]	[2]
						1967
–		Speaker of Parliament Yeoh Ghim Seng (1918–1993) Acting	23 November 1970	2 January 1971	40 days	–	[19]
2		Benjamin Sheares (1907–1981)	2 January 1971	12 May 1981[b]	10 years, 130 days	1970	[20]
						1974
						1978
–		Chief Justice Wee Chong Jin (1917–2005) Acting	12 May 1981	14 May 1981	2 days	–	[21][14]
–		Speaker of Parliament Yeoh Ghim Seng (1918–1993) Acting	14 May 1981	23 October 1981	162 days	–
3		Devan Nair (1923–2005)	23 October 1981	28 March 1985[e]	3 years, 156 days	1981	[23]
–		Chief Justice Wee Chong Jin (1917–2005) Acting	28 March 1985	31 March 1985	3 days	–	[24]
–		Speaker of Parliament Yeoh Ghim Seng (1918–1993) Acting	31 March 1985	2 September 1985	155 days	–
4		Wee Kim Wee (1915–2005)	2 September 1985	1 September 1993	7 years, 364 days	1985	[25]
						1989
–		Minister for the Environment Lim Kim San (1916–2006) Acting	6 March 1989	9 March 1989	3 days	–
5		Ong Teng Cheong (1936–2002)	1 September 1993	1 September 1999	6 years	1993	[26]
6		S. R. Nathan (1924–2016)	1 September 1999	1 September 2011	12 years	1999	[27]
						2005
7		Tony Tan (born 1940)	1 September 2011	1 September 2017	6 years	2011	[28]
–		Chairman of theCouncil of Presidential Advisers J. Y. Pillay (born 1934) Acting	1 September 2017	14 September 2017	13 days	–	[29]
8		Halimah Yacob (born 1954)	14 September 2017	14 September 2023	6 years	2017	[30]
–		Chairman of theCouncil of Presidential Advisers Eddie Teo (born 1947) Acting	27 July 2020	28 July 2020	1 day	–
9		Tharman Shanmugaratnam (born 1957)	14 September 2023	Incumbent	2 years, 70 days	2023	[31]
–		Chairman of theCouncil of Presidential Advisers Eddie Teo (born 1947) Acting	25 October 2025	27 October 2025	2 days	–

• Politics of Singapore
• Presidential elections in Singapore
• Spouse of the president of Singapore

• Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (1985 Rev. Ed., 1999 Reprint)

• Lists of national presidents
• Presidents of Singapore
• 1965 establishments in Singapore
• Singapore history-related lists
• Lists of political office-holders in Singapore

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