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
The qualifications required for a person to be elected as President are set out in the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore and are as follows:The public and private sector service requirements were adopted by Parliament on the recommendation of a constitutional commission chaired by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, which had been convened by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to recommend improvements to the Elected President scheme. In its report issued on 17 August 2016, the Commission said it was desirable to make the requirements more stringent to ensure the President "has the technical competence and expertise to discharge the functions and exercise the powers of the Presidency appropriately and effectively". Furthermore, stricter qualifications would "temper any politicisation of the Presidential office and of the election process": they would "likely reduce the prospect that candidates will target their campaigns at their opponent's character and qualifications, since each candidate who qualifies would have satisfied the PEC that they possess those traits".