Singapore will hold its first presidential election since 2011, after President Halimah announced on 29 May that she will not seek a second term. She is the country’s eighth and first female president. Her six-year term ends on 13 September.
New Delhi: Tharman Shanmugaratnam, a former Indian-origin minister, has officially launched his Presidential campaign in Singapore. The election is set to take place on September 23, 2023. Tharman, currently a Cabinet minister, announced his resignation from government after 22 years last month and intention to run for President. “I stepped into this race because I feel very strongly in the need to evolve Singapore’s culture, some of our norms and the way we go about working with each other so that we remain a shining spot in the world,” he said at a press conference. He further intended to be “a President for a new era” as he officially launched his campaign for the office.
The 2023 presidential election is due in September, as President Halimah Yacob’s six-year term ends on September 13.
Who is Tharman Shanmugaratnam?
- According to Daily O, Shanmugaratnam was born in Singapore on 25 February, 1957.
- Shanmugaratnam’s grandparents were Indian immigrants. He traces his roots to Tamil Nadu.
- His father, professor Kanagaratnam Shanmugaratnam, made major contributions to cancer research and healthcare, according to The Independent Singapore.
- Shanmugaratnam obtained a Master’s in Public Administration at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, where he was named a Lucius N Littauer Fellow for outstanding performance.
- Shanmugaratnam is married to Jane Yumiko Ittogi, a former lawyer who now does social work. The couple has been married over three decades and have four children – a daughter and three sons.
- In 1988, he was appointed as a Senior Economist at the Ministry of Trade and Industry. He was later appointed as the Chief Executive of the Monetary Authority of Singapore in 1998.
- Shanmugaratnam spent most of his professional career at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) – the island state’s central bank and financial regulator – where he served as chairman from 2011.
- He has served as the Minister for Education and Finance and was the Deputy Prime Minister from 2011 to 2019.
- Shanmugaratnam was first elected Member of Parliament in 2001, in Jurong Group Representation Constituencies (Jurong GRC) which allows candidates from the minorities to join a group led by members from the city state’s predominantly Chinese-origin population.
- He served as Deputy Prime Minister for eight years. He was also finance minister and education Minister. In 2015, when he was serving as deputy prime minister and finance minister, Shanmugaratnam’s name kept cropping up as a possible prime ministerial candidate.
Singapore Presidential election
Singapore will hold its first presidential election since 2011, after President Halimah announced on 29 May that she will not seek a second term. She is the country’s eighth and first female president. Her six-year term ends on 13 September.
The 2017 presidential poll was a reserved election, in which only members of the Malay community were allowed to contest. Halimah was named president then as there were no other candidates.
Who else is in the running?
No one else has fielded their candidacy, yet, but Prime Minister Lee’s estranged younger brother, Lee Hsien Yang, said in March that he is considering running.
To be eligible to run for President, one must be a Singaporean citizen, not younger than 45 years old, and resident in the country for at least 10 years. Candidates also must satisfy the Presidential Elections Committee that they are of integrity, good character, and reputation; and they must convince the Committee that they have met specific public or private service requirements.
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