The City Council of Singapore was the administrative council of the City of Singapore responsible for the provision of water, electricity, gas, roads and bridges and street lighting. It was dissolved in 1959 when Singapore attained self-governance from the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

, and it was subsequently abolished upon Singapore's independence from Malaysia in 1965. The first fully elected council was elected in

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

, followed with a by-election in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

. Prior to 1957, franchise was limited and there were appointed members. It signed the ''Tebrau and Scudai Rivers Water Agreement'' and the ''Johor River Water Agreement'' with the Johore State Government of

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

in 1961 and 1962 respectively.

/ref>

History

As a British colony, Singapore was conferred city status by a

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

from

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

in 1951, when Singapore was then a

Crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Counci ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The original Municipal Council was therefore renamed City Council, and the Municipal Building was renamed

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

. In 1965, upon Singapore's expulsion from

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, the Republic of Singapore Independence Act 1965 provided the following clause that empowered the President to abolish the City Council and the Rural Board, with the powers of the local authorities assumed by the government. The City Council of the City of Singapore and the Singapore Rural Board were abolished in 1965. Ong Eng Guan was Singapore's first elected mayor in 1957 and continued to run the City Council from December 1957 till April 1959.

Elections

Prior to the 1957 City Council elections, franchise was limited and the council was party appointed. From 1949 to 1953 there were 6 seats on council: * 1949 (April 2) * 1949 (November 7) * 1950 (December 2) * 1951 (December 1) * 1952 (December 6) * 1953 (December 5) After 1953 the yearly elections ended and the council term lasted 4 years. The elections in

and

eliminate all appointed seats on council. The number of seats increased to 32 for the last two elections before council was abolished in 1959.

References

> History of Singapore

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 ...

{{SEAsia-hist-stub

History

Elections

See also

References