Singapore is a sovereign republic, with a legal system based on the English common law. 

The Constitution lays down the fundamental principles and basic framework for the three organs of state, namely, the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary. 

The Executive comprises the Cabinet, which is responsible for the general direction of the Government and accountable to Parliament.

The Legislature comprises the Parliament and is the legislative authority responsible for enacting legislation. More information on the history of Parliament, Parliament House and activities of the House can be obtained from its website 

The Judiciary's function is to independently administer justice.  The Judiciary is safeguarded by the Constitution.
    
The Prime Minister of Singapore is appointed by the President of Singapore under Article 25 of the Constitution.  The President, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister, also appoints other Ministers from among the Members of Parliament.

The Prime Minister is the effective head of the executive branch of government.  He chairs the Cabinet, which is constituted under Article 24 of the Constitution.  The Cabinet is the central decision-making body of the executive government. It is an organ of state and central to Singapore's system of government. In practice, all significant decisions or actions taken by the Executive are first discussed and collectively agreed by Cabinet.

At present, Cabinet comprises the following members:

Mr Lee Hsien Loong	Prime Minister
Mr Goh Chok Tong	Senior Minister
Mr Lee Kuan Yew	Minister Mentor
Prof S. Jayakumar	Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security
Mr Wong Kan Seng	Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs
Mr George Yong-Boon Yeo	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Dr Lee Boon Yang	Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts
Mr Mah Bow Tan	Minister for National Development
Mr Lim Boon Heng	Minister, Prime Minister's Office
Mr Lim Hng Kiang	Minister for Trade and Industry
Mr Teo Chee Hean	Minister for Defence
Mr Lim Swee Say	Minister, Prime Minister's Office and Secretary-General NTUC
Dr Yaacob Ibrahim	Minister for the Environment and Water Resources
Mr Khaw Boon Wan	Minister for Health
Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam	Minister for Finance
Dr Ng Eng Hen	Minister for Education
Dr Vivian Balakrishnan	Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports
Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat	Minister for Transport
Mr K Shanmugam	Minister for Law
Mr Gan Kim Yong	Acting Minister for Manpower

As the chairman of the Cabinet, the Prime Minister approves the agenda, leads the meetings and oversees the government's general policy direction. The Prime Minister may also determine the setting up of Cabinet committees from time to time to look into specific subject areas, such as national population policies.

The responsibilities of the respective ministers are gazetted in separate Gazette Notifications under the Constitution.  The websites of the ministries provide more information on their specific functions and activities.

More information on the Government can be found on the SINGOV website.  

Back to top ^