This is a summary of the news about Tharman Shanmugaratnam running for the presidency after his resignation from the People's Action Party (PAP) on Jun. 8, 2023.

Latest Updates:

Jun. 8, 2023, 3:44pm: Tharman posts his thoughts about retirement and running for the presidency on Facebook.

Timeline:

May 29, 2023: Current President of Singapore Halimah Yacob announced on her Facebook that she will not be running for a second term in the upcoming Presidential Election, which will be happening this year after the end of her six-year term.

Jun. 8, 2023, 2pm: Secretary General of the PAP and Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong said that Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies Tharman Shanmugaratnam has informed him that he intends to resign from the Cabinet and the PAP to contest the upcoming Presidential Election (PE).

Tharman will also step down from his roles as Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Deputy Chairman of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC).

In his letter to PM Lee, Tharman wrote,

"My role vis-à-vis the Government will change fundamentally if I am elected President. What will never change is my conviction in the continuing Singapore story: a society where everyone has the support to uplift themselves regardless of their starting point in life, and a multiracial nation whose citizens take pride in its unique identity and feel a deepening sense of togetherness."

Tharman's letter to PM Lee:

PM Lee's reply:

Who is Tharman Shanmugaratnam?

Tharman was appointed Senior Minister since May 2019 after serving several years as Deputy Prime Minister, Finance Minister and Education Minister. He was the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and advised PM Lee on economic policies.

Tharman was Minister for Education from 2003 to 2008, and the Minister for Finance for nine years from 2007 to 2015.

He was Deputy Prime Minister from 2011 to 2019 and was Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies from 2011 to 2015.

Before politics, Tharman spent most of his earlier professional career at the MAS.

Learn more about Tharman here:

Top image via Tharman Shanmugaratnam & Wikipedia/Elisa.rolle