Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
| Deputy Prime Minister(s) of the Republic of Singapore |
|
|---|---|
| Appointer |
Tony Tan Keng Yam (as President of Singapore) |
| Term length | 5 years, renewable. Depended on the Prime Minister |
| Inaugural holder | Toh Chin Chye |
| Formation | 3 June 1959 |
| Website | www |
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The Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore is the deputy head of the government of the Republic of Singapore. The role of Deputy Prime Minister is the second highest post and senior Cabinet Minister in Singapore. The holder will sometimes assume the role of Acting Prime Minister when the PM is temporarily absent from Singapore. Since the mid-1980s, Singapore has usually had two Deputy Prime Ministers at a time. Only Ong Teng Cheong and Tony Tan (who later became Singaporean presidents) served under more than one Prime Minister during their time as Deputy Prime Minister.
The office of Deputy Prime Minister dates back to 1959 and was appointed at first by the Governor of Singapore then the Yang di-Pertuan Negara (vice-regal head of state), when Singapore achieved self-governance as the State of Singapore within the British Empire. The title of Deputy Prime Minister remained unchanged after the merger with the Federation of Malaya, Sarawak and British North Borneo, while Singapore was a state in the Federation of Malaysia from 1963 to 1965, and after independence in 1965.
Toh Chin Chye was the deputy first prime minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1968 and retired on 2 August 1968.
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