Question: Who was the first prime minister of Singapore?

Prime Minister of Singapore










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The Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore (Malay: Perdana Menteri Republik Singapura; Chinese:新加坡共和国总理, pinyin: Xīnjiāpō gònghéguó zǒnglǐ; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர் குடியரசின் பிரதமர், Ciṅkappūr kuṭiyaraciṉ piratamar) is the head of the government of the Republic of Singapore, and the most powerful person in Singapore. The President of Singapore appoints as Prime Minister a Member of Parliament (MP) who, in his or her opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs. In practice, the Prime Minister is usually the leader of the majority party in the legislature.
Under the Constitution of Singapore, executive power is vested in the President. However, the Constitution also vests "general direction and control of the government" in the Cabinet. The President is almost always bound to act on the advice of the Cabinet or any minister acting under Cabinet authority. Thus, in practice, most of the actual work of governing is done by the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The office of Prime Minister dates back to 1959 and was appointed at first by the Governor of Singapore then the Yang di-Pertuan Negara (vice-regal head of state), when Singapore achieved self-governance as the State of Singapore within the British Empire. The title of Prime Minister remained unchanged after the merger with the Federation of Malaya, Sarawak and North Borneo, while Singapore was a state in the Federation of Malaysia from 1963 to 1965, and after independence in 1965.
The late Lee Kuan Yew was the first prime minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. Lee was succeeded by Goh Chok Tong and was conferred the title of Senior Minister in the Prime Minister's Office. Goh retired on 12 August 2004 and was succeeded by Lee Kuan Yew's son Lee Hsien Loong. Goh was appointed Senior Minister, and the elder Lee Minister Mentor. Lee and Goh resigned from the Cabinet in 2011 but remained as members of Parliament.
List of Prime Ministers of Singapore (1959–present)[1]

Timeline

Living former Prime Minister

List of Deputy Prime Ministers

The role of Deputy Prime Minister is the second-highest post and senior Cabinet Minister in Singapore. The holder will sometimes assume the role of Acting Prime Minister when the PM is temporarily absent. Since the mid-1980s, Singapore has usually had two Deputy Prime Ministers at a time. Only Ong Teng Cheong and Tony Tan served under more than one Prime Minister during their time as Deputy Prime Minister. 
In the cabinet of Goh Chok Tong in the 1990s to 2004, current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and former President Tony Tan were the deputy prime ministers, with the latter only joining after Ong Teng Cheong officially left to fulfill his term as the President of Singapore.
Currently, the deputy prime ministers in office are Mr Teo Chee Hean and Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, with the latter joining after the resignation of Wong Kan Seng.
See also
Prime Minister's Office (Singapore)
Cabinet of Singapore
Politics of Singapore
Spouse of the Prime Minister of Singapore