Chief Minister of Singapore
Chief Minister of Singapore | |
---|---|
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom | |
Residence | Old Parliament House, Singapore |
Appointer | Governor of Singapore |
Formation | 6 April 1955 |
First holder | David Saul Marshall |
Final holder | Lim Yew Hock |
Abolished | 3 June 1959 |
Succession | Prime Minister of Singapore |
The Chief Minister of Singapore was the head of government of the Crown colony of Singapore until its abolition on 3 June 1959. The Chief Minister was appointed by the Governor of Singapore. The Chief Minister was the party leader of the largest party in the Legislative Assembly.
Powers of Chief Minister
In February 1955, a new constitution, the Rendel Constitution, was implemented. Singapore would create its first Legislative Assembly with majority of the seats popularly elected, to replace the existing Council.[1] 25 out of 32 seats would be elected by the general populace, four seats would be allocated to Governor-appointed unofficial members, three seats taken by ex officio members, respectively the Chief Secretary, Attorney-General and Financial Secretary, while the remaining seat would be for the unofficial Speaker of the Assembly nominated by the Governor.[1] Moreover, the post of the Chief Minister was added, which would be assumed by the leader of the majority party in the Assembly, sharing the responsibility with the Governor.[1] The Governor continued to take control over areas such as external affairs, internal security, defence, broadcasting and public relations, whereas the power of policy-making for the people's welfare lied in the hands of the Chief Minister.[1][2]
List of Chief Ministers
Colour key (for political party) |
LF |
№ | Chief Minister | Term of office | Political Party | Government | Elected | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Took Office | Left Office | Gen. | ||||
1 | David Saul Marshall (1908–1995) Assemblyman for Cairnhill |
6 April 1955 | 7 June 1956 | LF | Marshall I LF–UMNO-MCA |
1955 | |
The first Chief Minister of Singapore, he led the Labour Front to victory in the 1955 general election. He resigned due to the failed Merdeka mission. | |||||||
2(1) | Lim Yew Hock (1914–1984) Assemblyman for Havelock |
8 June 1956 | 3 June 1959 | LF | Lim I LF–UMNO-MCA (1956–1958) SPA–UMNO-MCA (1958–1959) |
- | |
SPA | |||||||
2(2) | The second and last Chief Minister of Singapore. He served as Minister of Labour and Welfare in David Marshall's Cabinet and concurrently held this position as Chief Minister. He led the breakout from the Labour Front to form the Singapore People's Alliance. He was defeated by Lee Kuan Yew in the 1959 general election. The latter was appointed as the first Prime Minister of Singapore. |
See also
- Labour Front
- Legislative Assembly of Singapore
- Prime Minister of Singapore
- Singapore People's Alliance
References
- The Parliament of Singapore Book
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