Halimah Yacob

Halimah Yacob
Halimah in 2019
8th President of Singapore
In office
14 September 2017 – 14 September 2023
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded byTony Tan
Succeeded byTharman Shanmugaratnam
Parliamentary offices
7th Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore
In office
14 January 2013 – 7 August 2017
DeputyCharles Chong
Seah Kian Peng
Lim Biow Chuan
Preceded byMichael Palmer
Succeeded byTan Chuan-Jin
Member of Parliament
for Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC
(Marsiling)
In office
11 September 2015 – 7 August 2017
Preceded byHawazi bin Daipi (PAP)
Succeeded byZaqy Mohamad (PAP)
Member of Parliament
for Jurong GRC
(Bukit Batok East)
In office
3 November 2001 – 24 August 2015
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byRahayu Mahzam (PAP)
Junior ministerial offices
Minister of State for Social and Family Development
In office
2012–2013
MinisterChan Chun Sing
Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports
In office
2011–2012
MinisterChan Chun Sing
Personal details
Born (1954-08-23) 23 August 1954 (age 69)
Colony of Singapore
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations
People's Action Party (2001–2017)
Spouse
Mohammed Abdullah Alhabshee
(m. 1980)
Children5
Alma materUniversity of Singapore (LLB)
National University of Singapore (LLM)
Signature

Halimah Yacob DUT[1] (born 23 August 1954) is a Singaporean politician and lawyer who served as the eighth president of Singapore from 2017 to 2023. Halimah won in the 2017 presidential election in an uncontested walkover due to ineligible candidates. She is the first female president in Singapore's history.[2][3]

A former member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), Halimah was the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Bukit Batok East division of Jurong GRC between 2001 and 2015, and the Marsiling division of Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC between 2015 and 2017.[4][5] Halimah served as Speaker of Parliament from 2013 to 2017. She is the first female speaker in Singapore's history.

After a constitutional amendment made in 2017, the 2017 presidential election was specifically reserved for candidates from the Malay community. Halimah resigned from the PAP and became an independent—one of the qualifications needed to run for the presidency—and ran for the 2017 presidential election which she won in an uncontested election, after the other presidential hopefuls except for her did not meet the qualifications.

During her presidency, Halimah exercised presidential discretionary powers to approve emergency funding for Singapore's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She also spoke in support of women's rights. She did not seek for a re-election in the 2023 presidential election. Her term ended on 13 September 2023 and was succeeded by Tharman Shanmugaratnam on the following day.

Halimah became the chancellor of Singapore University of Social Sciences from 1 October 2023.

  1. ^ "Singapore's former President Halimah Yacob awarded nation's highest civilian honour". Channel NewsAsia. 25 October 2023.
  2. ^ "PM Lee accepts Halimah Yacob's resignation from the PAP". Channel NewsAsia. 7 August 2017. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  3. ^ "Halimah Yacob named Singapore's first female president". Al Jazeera. 13 September 2017. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  4. ^ U-Wen, Lee. "Halimah Yacob declared president-elect after walkover victory". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  5. ^ "Who is Halimah Yacob, Singapore's first female President?". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2017.

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