Halimah Yacob
Halimah binti Yacob (Jawi: حليمة بنت يعقوب; born 23 August 1954) is a Singaporean politician who is the current President of Singapore & Commander-in-Chief of Singapore Armed Forces. Formerly a member of the country's governing People's Action Party (PAP), she was the ninth Speaker of Parliament, from January 2013 to August 2017. She was a Member of Parliament (MP) representing Jurong Group Representation Constituency between 2001 and 2015, and Marsiling-Yew Tee Group Representation Constituency between 2015 and 2017.
Presidential elections in Singapore
During the 2017 election, potential candidates Farid Khan and Mohamed Salleh Marican were not issued COEs by the PEC. While Khan did not reveal the grounds on which his COE application was turned down, Salleh Marican disclosed the letter sent to him by the PEC which stated that the Committee had been unable to satisfy itself that he had experience and ability comparable to the chief executive of a typical company with at least $500 million in shareholders' equity. This was because Salleh Marican's company had only averaged shareholders' equity of about $258 million for its last three financial years, which was "considerably below" $500 million. Moreover, the principal activities of the company "were those of an investment holding company, retailing of garments, holding of property as investment for rental income, investing in equities, and trading in bonds and equities". As the only qualified candidate, Halimah Yacob was declared elected as President on nomination day, 13 September 2017, without the need for a poll..