Spouse of the Prime Minister of Singapore

Spouse of the Prime Minister of Singapore 新加坡共和国总理配偶
	Incumbent; Ho Ching; since 12 August 2004
Residence	Sri Temasek
Inaugural holder	Kwa Geok Choo
Formation	5 June 1959

The Spouse of the Prime Minister of Singapore refers to the spouse of the head of government of Singapore, the Prime Minister. Since, Singapore became an internally self-governing state within the Commonwealth, the title has been occupied by women, therefore the spouse is also known as the Prime Minister's wife. To date, three women have held the title of the spouse of the Prime Minister of Singapore.

Ho Ching is the spouse of the incumbent Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong.[1]

Role of the spouse of the Prime Minister of Singapore

The spouse of the Prime Minister of Singapore is not an elected position, carries no official duties, and brings no salary. However, she does receive some allowance as recognition of her time and energy put into being the spouse of the Prime Minister of Singapore.

As the spouse of the Prime Minister of Singapore, she attends many official ceremonies and functions of state either along with or representing the Prime Minister. There is a strict taboo against the spouse holding outside employment while serving as spouse of the Prime Minister of Singapore.

Following the Asian value system, where the woman is the guiding light and pillar of the household, the spouse also represents family values and is taken as a motherly figure.

The spouse of the Prime Minister of Singapore frequently participates in humanitarian and charitable work. It became increasingly common for spouses of heads of state or government to select specific causes to promote, usually ones that are not politically divisive. It is common for the spouse of the Prime Minister of Singapore to form organisations and hire a staff to support these activities.

List of spouses of prime ministers of Singapore

#	Spouse	Term start	Term end	Prime Minister
1	Kwa Geok Choo	5 June 1959	28 November 1990	Lee Kuan Yew
2	Tan Choo Leng	28 November 1990	12 August 2004	Goh Chok Tong
3	Ho Ching	12 August 2004	Incumbent	Lee Hsien Loong

References

Hoe, Irene (18 December 1985). "When Xiu Qi almost stole the show". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2017.

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[1] Hoe, Irene (18 December 1985). "When Xiu Qi almost stole the show". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2017.