Here's a random but possibly-interesting factoid: Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam is currently Prime Minister of Singapore.

This notice was published in the Singapore government gazette on Tuesday, April 24:

"It is hereby notified for general information that, under Article 26(4)(a) of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, the President has, by Instrument under the Public Seal, authorised Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister and Co-ordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies, to exercise the functions conferred on the Prime Minister by the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, during the absence of Mr Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister, who has been granted leave of absence from his duties from 25 April 2019 to 29 April 2019 (both dates inclusive)."

TL;DR: PM Lee is on leave from his PM duties from Apr. 25 - 29, and so during this time, DPM Tharman will be PM in Singapore.

Where's PM Lee?

In China, actually — hanging out with Chinese President Xi Jinping:

His official visit to Beijing is significant and important, too — a good way to signal to everyone that things are solid between us and China.

As he said to Xinhua news agency:

So why's Tharman stepping in?

Because it's normal for Deputy Prime Ministers to be appointed to do so when the Prime Minister is away — either on work trips or on personal leave.

It's happened quite a few times before, even for DPM Tharman, but not just for him. Fellow outgoing DPM Teo Chee Hean has also on multiple occasions stepped into this role, and even non-DPMs like Khaw Boon Wan and Home Affairs & Law Minister K Shanmugam have done the same when the DPMs are overseas and on leave:

The above occasion was particularly amusing because it comes on the back of a four-day term DPM Tharman had as Acting Prime Minister in the month just prior, where he had to quash rumours and public calls for him to succeed PM Lee:

And why is this his last chance to be Prime Minister?

Because of the latest, and quite highly-anticipated, Cabinet reshuffle.

Folks who have been keeping an eye on this were looking out for moves that will indicate any shifts in hierarchy or queue to occupy the top spot in government, particularly with the appointment of Deputy Prime Minister(s).

And as it turned out, the actual adjustments announced were not at all a surprise:

But we're bringing this up now because this also means DPMs Tharman and Teo Chee Hean will from May 1 (next Wednesday) be stepping down as DPMs to become Senior Ministers.

(And here's another fun fact: yes, DPMs have directly become Senior Ministers before — S Rajaratnam and S Jayakumar both did that — so they don't need to follow the Lee, Goh and Lee track of DPM → PM → SM.)

And chances are, unless he's busy, on leave or elsewhere, DPM Heng Swee Keat will be stepping up as PM in future instances like this.

So enjoy these days under (Acting) Prime Minister Tharman. Until Monday.

Stuff about Deputy Prime Ministers and Prime Ministers and people who will not be Prime Minister:

Top file photo by Weixiang Lim