Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
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| Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore | |
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| Abbreviation | DPM |
| Appointer | Prime Minister of Singapore |
| Term length | At the Prime Minister's pleasure |
| Inaugural holder | Toh Chin Chye |
| Formation | 3 June 1959 |
| Salary | S$1,870,000 annually (including S$192,500 MP salary) |
| Website | www |
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The deputy prime minister of Singapore is the deputy head of government of the Republic of Singapore. The incumbent deputy prime ministers are Heng Swee Keat and Lawrence Wong, who took office on 1 May 2019 and 13 June 2022 respectively.
History
The deputy prime minister is the second highest post, and is a senior Cabinet minister in Singapore. Since the mid-1980s, Singapore has had two deputy prime ministers at a time. The holder will sometimes assume the role of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent from Singapore.
The office of Deputy Prime Minister dates back to 1959 and was first appointed by the Governor of Singapore and later the Yang di-Pertuan Negara, when Singapore attained self-governance from the British Empire.
The title of Deputy Prime Minister remained unchanged after the merger with the Federation of Malaya, Sarawak and North Borneo to form Malaysia, while Singapore was a federated state of Malaysia between 1963 and 1965. Toh Chin Chye was the first deputy prime minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1968.
Heng Swee Keat was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister after Teo Chee Hean and Tharman Shanmugaratnam relinquished their positions to become Senior Minister of Singapore.
Heng Swee Keat was widely believed to be poised to succeed Lee Hsien Loong as the next prime minister following his appointment as Deputy Prime Minister in May 2019. Heng subsequently withdrew himself from the nomination in April 2021 citing age and health reasons.[1][2] Lawrence Wong assumed the office as Deputy Prime Minister on 13 June 2022, serving alongside Heng Swee Keat.[3]
List of deputy prime ministers
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | Political party | Head of government | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | Prime Minister | |||
| Toh Chin Chye 杜进才 (1921–2012) |
5 June 1959 | 2 August 1968 | 9 years, 58 days |  People's Action Party
|
Lee Kuan Yew | |
| Vacant (2 August 1968 – 1 March 1973) | ||||||
| Goh Keng Swee 吴庆瑞 (1918–2010) |
1 March 1973 | 1 January 1985 | 11 years, 306 days | People's Action Party
|
Lee Kuan Yew | |
| S. Rajaratnam சின்னத்தம்பி இராசரத்தினம் (1915–2006) |
1 June 1980 | 1 January 1985 | 4 years, 214 days | |||
 |
Goh Chok Tong 吴作栋 (b. 1941) |
2 January 1985 | 28 November 1990 | 5 years, 330 days | ||
 |
Ong Teng Cheong 王鼎昌 (1936–2002) |
2 January 1985 | 1 September 1993 | 8 years, 242 days | Lee Kuan Yew (1959–1990) Goh Chok Tong (1990–2004) | |
 |
Lee Hsien Loong 李显龙 (b. 1952) |
28 November 1990 | 12 August 2004 | 13 years, 258 days | Goh Chok Tong | |
 |
Tony Tan 陈庆炎 (b. 1940) |
1 August 1995 | 1 September 2005 | 10 years, 31 days | Goh Chok Tong (1990–2004) Lee Hsien Loong (2004–present) | |
.jpg) |
S. Jayakumar ஜெயகுமார் (b. 1939) |
12 August 2004 | 1 April 2009 | 4 years, 232 days | Lee Hsien Loong | |
 |
Wong Kan Seng 黄根成 (b. 1946) |
1 September 2005 | 21 May 2011 | 5 years, 262 days | ||
 |
Teo Chee Hean 张志贤 (b. 1954) |
1 April 2009 | 30 April 2019 | 10 years, 30 days | ||
.jpg) |
Tharman Shanmugaratnam தர்மன் சண்முகரத்தினம் (b. 1957) |
21 May 2011 | 30 April 2019 | 7 years, 345 days | ||
 |
Heng Swee Keat 王瑞杰 (b. 1961) |
1 May 2019 | Incumbent | 5 years, 80 days | ||
 |
Lawrence Wong 黄循财 (b. 1972) |
13 June 2022 | Incumbent | 2 years, 38 days | ||
See also
- Prime Minister of Singapore
- Senior Minister of Singapore
- Prime Minister's Office (PMO)
- Cabinet of Singapore
Notes
- ^ Ang, Hwee Min (8 April 2021). "DPM Heng Swee Keat steps aside as leader of PAP 4G team, PM Lee accepts decision". Channel News Asia. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ^ "Heng Swee Keat to be promoted to DPM in Cabinet reshuffle". Channel NewsAsia. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ katherine_chen (6 June 2022). "PMO | Changes to Cabinet and Other Appointments (June 2022)". Prime Minister's Office Singapore. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
External links
 Current members of the Cabinet of Singapore | |
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| Prime Minister | |
| Deputy Prime Minister(s) | |
| Senior Minister(s) | |
| Cabinet Minister(s) | |
Effective from 15 May 2024 | |
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