Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore

Parliament must elect a Speaker at the beginning of each new parliamentary term after a general election.[1] Parliament has the freedom to choose how to elect the Speaker. By recent tradition, the Prime Minister nominates a person for the role. The person's name is then proposed and seconded by the Members of Parliament (MPs), before being elected as Speaker.[2] The Constitution states that Parliament has the freedom to decide how to elect its Speaker.[3]

The Speaker may or may not be an elected MP, but must possess the qualifications to stand for election as an MP as provided for in the Constitution.[4] The Speaker cannot be a Cabinet Minister or Parliamentary Secretary[5], and must resign from those positions prior to being elected as Speaker.

Once elected, a Speaker continues in office until the dissolution of Parliament, unless he or she resigns, is appointed as a Cabinet minister or Parliamentary Secretary, or is disqualified from holding their seat as an MP.[6]

The role of the Speaker in Singapore is similar to that in most Commonwealth legislatures. The Speaker presides over the sittings of Parliament, and enforces the rules prescribed in its Standing Orders for the orderly conduct of parliamentary business. In carrying out their duties, the Speaker must remain impartial and fair to all MPs.[4]

The Speaker regulates and enforces the rules of debate. They decide who has the right to speak, and put the question for Parliament to debate on and vote. The Speaker does not take part in the debates, but can abstain or vote for or against a motion if they have a vote as an elected MP. [4]

As the guardian of parliamentary privileges, MPs look to the Speaker for guidance on procedures, and for rulings on any points of order.[4]

The Speaker is second in the order of succession for the office of the President of Singapore. Should the President's office be vacant, and the chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers is unable to take up the role, the Speaker will assume the duties of the President until a new President is elected.[7] In terms of state protocol, the Speaker sits at the same level as the Chief Justice of Singapore.[2]

The Speaker acts as Parliament's representative in its relations with other legislatures and outside bodies. The Speaker also welcomes visiting dignitaries, and represents Parliament at national events and during official visits abroad. The Speaker is overall in charge of the administration of Parliament and its Secretariat.[4]

The Speaker is one of the few public sector roles which allow its office-holder to automatically qualify as a candidate in the Singapore presidential elections.[8]

A list of people who have served as Speakers of Parliament is set out below:[9]

#	Speaker	Party	Constituency	Took office	Left office	Parliament
1	Sir George Oehlers [10]		Non-constituency Members of Parliament	22 April 1955	31 March 1959	1st Legislative Assembly
				1 July 1959	3 September 1963	2nd Legislative Assembly
2	Edmund W Barker	People's Action Party	Tanglin	22 October 1963	1964	3rd Legislative Assembly
3	Arumugam Ponnu Rajah [11]	No Political Party	Independent	1964	8 August 1965
				9 August 1965	1966	1st Parliament
4	Punch Coomaraswamy [12]	No Political Party	Non-constituency Members of Parliament	1966	8 February 1968
				6 May 1968	1970	2nd Parliament
5	Yeoh Ghim Seng	People's Action Party	Joo Chiat	1970	16 August 1972
				12 October 1972	6 December 1976	3rd Parliament
				7 February 1977	5 December 1980	4th Parliament
				3 February 1981	4 December 1984	5th Parliament
				25 February 1985	17 August 1988	6th Parliament
6	Tan Soo Khoon		Brickworks GRC	9 January 1989	14 August 1991	7th Parliament
			Bedok GRC	6 January 1992	16 December 1996	8th Parliament
			East Coast GRC	26 May 1997	18 October 2001	9th Parliament
7	Abdullah Tarmugi		East Coast GRC	25 March 2002	20 April 2006	10th Parliament
				2 November 2006	19 April 2011	11th Parliament
8	Michael Palmer[13]		Punggol East SMC	10 October 2011	12 December 2012	12th Parliament
9	Halimah Yacob[14]		Jurong GRC	14 January 2013	25 August 2015
			Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC	15 January 2016	7 August 2017	13th Parliament
10	Tan Chuan-Jin[15]		Marine Parade GRC	11 September 2017	23 June 2020

The following table contains a list of Deputy Speakers of Parliament:[16]

Deputy Speaker	Party	Term of office
R C H Lim	Non-constituency Members of Parliament	1955–1959
G Kandasamy		1959–1961
John Mammen		1961–1963
Dr Fong Kim Heng		1963–1965
Punch Coomaraswamy		1966
Dr Yeoh Ghim Seng	People's Action Party	1968–1970
Tang See Chim	Non-constituency Members of Parliament	1972–1981
Hwang Soo Jin		1981–1985
Tan Soo Khoon	People's Action Party	1985–1989
Lim Boon Heng		1989–1991
Abdullah Tarmugi		1989–1993
Eugene Yap Giau Cheng		1993–2002
Lim Hwee Hua		2002–2004
Chew Heng Ching		2002–2006
S. Iswaran		2004–2006
Indranee Rajah		2006–2011
Matthias Yao		2006–2011
Seah Kian Peng		2011–2016
Charles Chong[17]		2011–2020
Lim Biow Chuan		2016–present