- By Aashish Vashistha
- Fri, 15 Sep 2023 12:03 AM (IST)
- Source:PTI
Indian-Origin economist and former Singapore deputy prime minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam was sworn in as the ninth Singapore President on Thursday, two weeks after his landslide victory in the elections.
66-year-old Shanmugaratnam took the oath on Thursday evening at his inauguration ceremony after completing an inspection of the guards at the Istana, the President’s official residence.
Tharman Shanmugaratnam will be in office for six years and he succeeds President Halimah Yacob, Singapore's first female president, whose term ended on September 13.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Thursday hailed the election of Indian-origin Shanmugaratnam as the country’s president and emphasised that people of the nation have chosen a candidate who is "eminently qualified for this high office".
Lee said that he was pleased to congratulate Tharman on his victory in the elections. “It was good that there was a contest and Singaporeans had the opportunity to exercise their right to vote," the Singapore PM said, as quoted by news agency PTI.
Tharman is a well-known politician in Singapore who won several parliamentary elections. (Image: Reuters)
"It is indeed a good sign that in a national vote, Singaporeans have elected a candidate from a minority community as President, on his merits, by an overwhelming majority,” he further said.
Speaking at his inauguartion at the Istana, Lee stated that the Presidential Election, which Tharman won with a dominant 70.4 percent vote share, demonstrated that race was a "smaller factor now than it used to be" for Singaporeans.
"It is indeed a good sign that in a national vote, Singaporeans have elected a candidate from a minority community as President, on his merits, by an overwhelming majority,” Lee said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also extended his congratulations to Tharman following his election victory and emphasised that he looked forward to working with Shanmugaratnam to further strengthen the India-Singapore Strategic Partnership.
Indian-origin Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon administered the oath of office to President Shanmugaratnam at a ceremony which was held at Istana, a 154-year-old palace in the heart of Singapore's Shopping and Hotel Belt on Orchard Road.
Tharman is a well-known politician in Singapore who won several parliamentary elections, including the 2020 general election in which he won with biggest margin of votes as a member of the People's Action Party (PAP). He resigned from the party earlier this year and stressed his independence during his presidential campaign, as reported by Reuters.
