President's Address for Parliament opening is prepared by govt of the day

President Tharman Shanmugaratnam will deliver his inaugural President's Address to Parliament on Sep. 5 at 8pm.

This address will open the first session of the 15th Parliament of Singapore, laying out the government's priorities, policies and programmes for the new term of Parliament.

But did you know that the President's Address is not really written by the sitting President?

Instead, the speech is written and prepared by members of the government, who have won the general election.

Not new

Singapore presidents delivering addresses drafted by the government of the day is not new, and is rooted in history.

This dates back to May 6, 1968, where Singapore's first president, Yusof Ishak, delivered the first-ever President's Address.

One may question why the Address is written by members of the People's Action Party (PAP) government when the president is meant to be an impartial and non-partisan Head of State.

However, that is precisely the reason the president delivers the Address, as it is intended to inform the entire House of the government's plans.

Thus, if another party were to be in power and form the government, the president would deliver the Address drafted by them.

Two parties represented in parliament

It might seem strange for the president to read to the House a speech drafted by PAP members, because you might assume that the PAP had already discussed it among themselves ahead of time.

But the PAP is not the only party represented in Parliament.

During the 2025 General Election, the PAP retained control of Parliament with a supermajority, winning 87 of the 97 seats up for election.

The Workers' Party won the other 10 seats during the 2025 General Election, defeating the PAP in Aljunied GRC, Sengkang GRC, and Hougang SMC.

The two Non-Constituency Members of Parliament are also from the Workers' Party.

As such, the President's Address informs the whole House of the government's plans, as the non-PAP Members of Parliament would not know about it before the Address.

Similar practices in other countries

Former Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin wrote in his Speaker's Blog on Aug. 22, 2020, that Singapore's President's Address is a legacy of the Westminster system of government in the UK.

The President's Address largely resembles the State Opening of Parliament in the UK, where the King gives the King's Speech, which is written by members of his government, to her MPs.

This is because the King, as the monarch and Head of State, is exercising his constitutional duties in reading the speech.

Once the King finishes giving his speech and leaves, a new parliamentary session starts, and Parliament gets back to work.

Members of both Houses debate the content of the speech and agree an Address in Reply to His Majesty’s Gracious Speech.

Debate to follow President's Address

Similarly, in Singapore, MPs have five sitting days to debate the government policies and plans as laid out in the President's Address and the respective ministries' and agencies' statements.

This allows MPs from all parties to raise their concerns or make proposals of their own.

Other countries with Westminster systems of government, such as India, South Africa and Australia, also follow a similar practice, with the Head of State opening Parliament with a speech.

In Australia's case, their Head of State is also King Charles of the UK, so his appointed Governor-General of Australia does the honours instead.

In other countries like the U.S., the President is both the Head of State and Head of Government, so he delivers a similar address to Congress, called the State of the Union.

Well, now you know.

Top photo via Canva & Tharman Shanmugaratnam/Facebook