Singapore: Indian-origin Tharman Shanmugaratnam sworn in as President of Singapore, replacing Halimah Yacob

Indian-born Singapore-born economist Tharman Shanmugaratnam was sworn in as the city-state’s ninth president on Thursday. Thurman, 66, will serve a six-year term. He will succeed Singapore’s first female president, President Halimah Yacob, whose term ended on September 13. Thurman, who has served Singapore his entire life in public service, was overwhelmingly supported by the city-state’s predominantly Chinese society. He served as a senior minister between 2019 and 2023; Coordinating Minister for Social Policies between 2015 and 2023 and Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore between 2011 and 2023. He also served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore from May 2011 to May 2019.

Singapore has had two Indian-origin presidents in the past. Singaporean politician and civil servant of Tamil origin Sellapan Ramanathan, better known as SR Nathan, served as President of Singapore. In 2009, Nathan defeated Benjamin Shears to become the longest-serving President of Singapore. Chengara Veetil Devan Nair, better known as Devan Nair, served as the third President of Singapore from 1981 until his resignation in 1985. Born in Malacca, Malaysia in 1923, Nair was the son of a rubber plantation clerk, originally from Thalassery, Kerala.