The following lists events that happened during 1959 in Singapore.

Incumbents

Governor of Singapore The Governors of Singapore were the political leaders of Singapore during its pre-independence phase in the history of Singapore. Residents of Singapore (1819–1826) The Resident of Singapore ruled the British colony that is today the Republi ...

**Sir William Allmond Codrington Goode ( until 2 June) * Yang di-Pertuan Negara ** Sir William Allmond Codrington Goode (from 3 June to 2 December) ** Yusof Ishak (from 3 December) * Chief Minister – Lim Yew Hock (until June 3) *

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

– Lee Kuan Yew (from 5 June) * Chief Secretary:

Edgeworth Beresford David Sir Edgeworth Beresford David KBE CMG (12 June 1908 – 15 May 1965) was a colonial administrator. He was appointed as a cadet in the Colonial Office in 1930 and later became the Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong from 1955 to 1957 and the las ...

(till 2 June)

Events

May

*30 May – The 1959 General Elections was held. Lee Kuan Yew was elected as

Prime Minister of Singapore The prime minister of Singapore is the head of government of the Republic of Singapore. The president appoints the prime minister, a Member of Parliament (MP) who in their opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of the majority of ...

June

*3 June – The 1958 State of Singapore Constitution is adopted, allowing for self-governance in Singapore. *5 June – The first

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

is sworn into power. *8 June – A campaign against decadent lifestyles is launched. *20 June – The Ministry of National Development will start a team with seven Assembly members from 22 June, with many departments to be consolidated under MND. The

Singapore Improvement Trust The Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) is a former government organisation that was responsible for urban planning and urban renewal in Singapore. Formally established in 1927 under the Singapore Improvement Ordinance, it was modelled after sim ...

will also be brought under the Ministry in future. *25 June – The Ministry of National Development forms the Primary Production Department to better serve farmers and fishermen.

October

*23 October – Various departments of the City Council and Rural Board will be absorbed into the Ministry of National Development, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Labour and Law.

December

*3 December – Encik Yusof bin Ishak is sworn in as Singapore's second Yang di-Pertuan Negara. On the same day, the National

Flag of Singapore The Flag of Singapore was adopted in 1959, the year Singapore became self-governing within the British Empire. It remained the national flag upon the country's independence from Malaysia on 9 August 1965. The design is a horizontal bicolour of ...

,Singapore State Arms and Flag and National Anthem Ordinance 1959 (No. 70 of 1959), now the . the Coat of arms of Singapore and the national anthem, Majulah Singapura, are unveiled. *12–17 December – Singapore participates in the

1959 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games The 1959 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games, officially known as the 1st Southeast Asian Peninsular Games, was the first and inaugural edition of the biennial multi-sport event for Southeast Asian athletes, organised by the SEAP Games Federation. I ...

, the first SEAP event. It came in fourth with 33 medals.

Births

* 9 February – Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Trade and Industry. * 26 February –

Lim Hwee Hua Lim Hwee Hua ( Tan; zh, s=陈惠华, p=Chén Huìhuá; born 26 February 1959) is a former politician who served as Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for Transport concurrently between 20 ...

, former politician, first woman in Singapore's Cabinet. * 26 March –

K. Shanmugam Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam ( ta, காசிவிஸ்வநாதன் சண்முகம்; born 26 March 1959), better known as K. Shanmugam, is a Singaporean politician and lawyer who has been serving as Minister for Law since 2008 ...

Minister for Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

and

Minister for Law The Ministry of Law (MinLaw; ms, Kementerian Undang-Undang; zh, 律政部; ta, சட்ட அமைச்சு) is a ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for the advancement in access to justice, the rule of law, the economy ...

. * 24 June –

Raymond Lim Raymond Lim Siang Keat ( zh, s=林双吉, p=Lín Shuāngjí, born 24 June 1959) is a former Singaporean politician. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), Lim has been a Member of Parliament (MP) representing the East Coast Group ...

, former politician.

References

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Years in Singapore {{singapore-stub