Spouse of the president of Singapore

The spouse of the president of Singapore is sometimes called the first lady or first gentleman, although it is a term of courtesy not enshrined in the Constitution of Singapore. By tradition, an official portrait of the spouse of the president of Singapore is prominently displayed in government buildings alongside the portrait of the president, whose role as head of state is largely ceremonial.[1][lower-alpha 1]

Spouse of the
President of Singapore
Incumbent
Mohammed Abdullah Alhabshee
since 14 September 2017
StyleMister
ResidenceThe Istana
Inaugural holderNoor Aishah
Formation9 August 1965 (1965-08-09)

In December 1959, Noor Aishah, wife of Singapore's first locally born head of state Yusof Ishak, became the first person to assume the role at the age of 26.[3] Her biography, Puan Noor Aishah: Singapore's First Lady, was published in 2017.[4]

On 14 September 2017, Mohammed Abdullah Alhabshee became the first male spouse of a president of Singapore, after his wife Halimah Yacob won the 2017 presidential election by an uncontested walkover.[5]

List of spouses of the president of Singapore
No Portrait Spouse of President President Start date End date
1 Noor Aishah Yusof Ishak 9 August 1965 23 November 1970
2 Yeo Seh Geok Benjamin Sheares 2 January 1971 12 May 1981
3 Avadai Dhanam Lakshimi Devan Nair 23 October 1981 28 March 1985
4 Koh Sok Hiong Wee Kim Wee 2 September 1985 1 September 1993
5 Ling Siew May Ong Teng Cheong 2 September 1993 30 July 1999
6 Urmila Umi Nandey Sellapan Ramanathan 1 September 1999 31 August 2011
7 Mary Chee Tony Tan 1 September 2011 31 August 2017
8 Mohammed Abdullah Alhabshee Halimah Yacob 14 September 2017 Incubment

See also

Notes
  1. Outside of Singapore, the spouse of the prime minister has occasionally been referred to in the media as "first lady".[2]

References
  1. Nur Asyiqin Mohamad Salleh (7 February 2017). "Debate on Bill prompts questions on ethnicity and identity". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  2. "Singapore first lady riles up Taiwanese by gloating over US protests". Taiwan News. 2 June 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via Gale OneFile.
  3. "Puan Noor Aishah – Singapore's first First Lady". Singapore Women's Hall of Fame. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  4. Nur Asyiqin Mohamad Salleh (19 July 2017). "New book launched on Puan Noor Aishah, wife of Singapore's first President Yusof Ishak". Straits Times. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  5. Tham Yuen-C (14 September 2017). "The man behind her successful career". The Straits Times. Retrieved 23 May 2020.


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