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THE GOVERNMENT OF

THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE

THE PRESIDENT OF SINGAPORE

PRESIDENT ONG TENG CHEONG

The Constitution provides for a President who is the Head of State. On January 1991, the Constitution was amended to allow for the election of a President by the citizens of Singapore. The elected President will hold office for a fixed term of six years. He is empowered to veto government budgets and appointments to public office. He can also examine the Government's exercise of its powers under the Internal Security Act and religious harmony laws, and in investigations into cases of corruption.

A Council of Presidential Advisors is appointed to advise and make recommendations to the President. The President must consult the Council before performing some of his functions, for instance, the appointment of key civil servants.

The first Presidential election was held on 28 August 1993. Mr. Ong Teng Cheong was elected.

Mr Ong Teng Cheong was born on 22 January 1936.

He received his early education at the Chinese High School. He pursued his tertiary education at the University of Adelaide, Australia, and graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor of Architecture degree. He worked as an architect in Adelaide and Singapore from 1962 to 1965. He was awarded a scholarship to pursue his postgraduate studies at the University of Liverpool, UK, and received his Master of Civic Design (Town Planning) degree in 1967. From 1967 to 1971, he worked in the civil service as a town planner. He then practised as an architect and town planner in the private sector between 1971 and 1975. In 1972, Mr Ong was elected to Parliament as the Member for Kim Keat Constituency. He served as a Member of Parliament for 21 years, having been re-elected in 1976, returned unopposed in 1980 and 1984, and re-elected in 1988. In 1991, he was returned unopposed as one of four Members for the Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency (GRC).

In 1975, Mr Ong was appointed Senior Minister of State for Communications. In 1978, he was appointed Minister for Communications and Acting Minister for Culture concurrently. He became the Minister for Communications and concurrently, the Minister for Labour in 1980. He was appointed Minister without Portfolio in 1983. Mr Ong was appointed Second Deputy Prime Minister in 1985. He was re-appointed to this office in 1988. In November 1990, he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in the Government led by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. He was re-appointed to this post in September 1991. Mr Ong was elected Chairman of the People's Action Party Central Executive Committee in 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1989 and again in 1990. He resigned from the Cabinet and the People's Action Party in August 1993 to stand for the presidential election.

Mr Ong became the fifth President of the Republic of Singapore and the first President to be elected by the people on 1 September 1993. Mr Ong was also active in the trade union movement. He was first elected Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) in 1983. He continued to hold this post till 1993, after having been re-elected in 1985, 1988 and 1991. Mr Ong resigned as Secretary-General of the NTUC on 30 August 1993 to become the President of Singapore. He is married to Ling Siew May. They have two sons.

THESE ARE THE PAST PRESIDENTS OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE

1965 - 1970	ENCIK YUSOF BIN ISHAK
1971 - 1981	DR BENJAMIN HENRY SHEARES
1981 - 1985	MR C V DEVAN NAIR
1985 - 1993	MR WEE KIM WEE
1993 - Present	MR ONG TENG CHEONG

THE PRIME MINISTER OF SINGAPORE

PRIME MINISTER GOH CHOK TONG

Born on 20 May 1941, Goh Chok Tong received his secondary school education at Singapore's oldest school, the Raffles Institution. He pursued an undergraduate degree in economics at the University of Singapore where he graduated top of his class with a First Class Honours degree.

Mr Goh joined the Administrative Service of the Singapore Government in 1964 where he served in the Economic Planning Unit. After two years, he was awarded a scholarship for postgraduate studies in development economics at Williams College, Massachusetts, USA. After receiving his Masters degree, he returned to Singapore to continue to work in the Ministry of Finance. In 1969, he joined the national shipping company, Neptune Orient Lines, as the Planning and Projects Manager. He rose to Managing Director of the company by 1973 and remained in this position for four years.

Mr Goh was elected to Parliament in 1976 as the Member of Parliament for Marine Parade constituency, one of the new constituencies with an electorate of public housing residents. Less than a year later in September 1977, he was appointed Senior Minister of State for Finance. In 1979, he became the first Minister for Trade and Industry. From 1981 to 1985, Mr Goh served concurrently as Minister for Health and Minister for Trade and Industry and then as Minister for Defence and Minister for Health. In 1985, he became the leader of the new generation of political leaders in Singapore and was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister while concurrently holding the appointment of Minister for Defence.

On 28 November 1990, Mr Goh succeeded Mr Lee Kuan Yew as the Prime Minister of Singapore. In ruling People's Action Party, he has served in the Central Executive Committee since 1979. He is currently the Secretary-General of the Party. Mr Goh's involvement with the trade union movement goes back to 1977 when he was first made a Director of the Singapore Labour Foundation, and later its Chairman. He also served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of NTUC Income, the insurance cooperative, and NTUC Fairprice, the supermarket cooperative of the National Trades Union Congress. He was also the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Singapore Industrial Labour Organisation Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society. In 1987, Mr Goh was awarded the Medal of Honour by the National Trades Union Congress. Mr Goh is married to advocate and solicitor Tan Choo Leng. They have two children - twin son and daughter. For recreation, Mr Goh enjoys golf and tennis.

THE SENIOR MINISTER OF SINGAPORE

SENIOR MINISTER LEE KUAN YEW

was born on 16 September 1923 in Singapore.

EDUCATION:
1929 - 1935	Telok Kurau English School
1936 - 1939	Raffles Institution
1940 - 1941	Raffles College
1946 - 1949	Fitzwilliam, Cambridge University, England
1969 (Honorary Fellow)	Double First with star for distinction
1946 - 1950	Middle Temple, Barrister-at-Law (1969 Honorary Bencher).

Family - 1950 Married Kwa Geok Choo, educated Methodist Girls' School, Raffles College, Cambridge University, Middle Temple, Barrister-at-Law.

Two sons - Lee Hsien Loong and Lee Hsien Yang, and one daughter, Lee Wei Ling.

ACTIVITIES:
1950 - 1959	Practiced as lawyer and was honorary legal adviser to many trade unions.
1954	Founder member and Secretary-General of People's Action Party.
1955	First elected for Tanjong Pagar. Has continuously represented Tanjong Pagar ever since.
1959	Became Prime Minister. Continued as Prime Minister after PAP won General Elections in 1963, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984 and 1988.
1990 - 1996	Resigned as Prime Minister. Appointed as Senior Minister by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong after the 1991 General Elections.

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