Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Singapore)

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Agency overview
Formed	9 August 1965; 59 years ago
Jurisdiction	Government of Singapore
Headquarters	1 Sherwood Road, (Tanglin) Singapore 248163
Motto	Establishing Our Place in the World
Employees	1,616 (2018)
Annual budget	S$466.70 million (2019)
Ministers responsible	Vivian Balakrishnan, ; Minister; Maliki Osman, ; Second Minister; Sim Ann, ; Senior Minister of State;
Agency executives	Albert Chua, ; Permanent Secretary; Luke Goh, ; 2nd Permanent Secretary; Kevin Cheok, ; Deputy Secretary (Asia Pacific); Wong Hong Kuan, ; Deputy Secretary (Management); Foo Chi Hsia, Deputy Secretary (Southeast Asia and ASEAN);
Website	www.mfa.gov.sg
Agency ID	T08GA0014A
Footnotes
	List of diplomatic missions of Singapore

Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Malay: Kementerian Ehwal Luar Negeri; Chinese: 新加坡外交部; Tamil: வெளியுறவு அமைச்சு) is in charge of the country's foreign relations, as well as handling matters and providing consular assistance related to overseas Singaporean citizens. It was established on 9 August 1965. A ministry for the Government of Singapore, it is also responsible for conducting and managing diplomatic relations between Singapore and other countries and regions.

Organisational structure

The ministry now has 50 overseas missions including 7 high commissions, 21 embassies, 4 permanent missions to the United Nations, and 17 consulates. Singapore has appointed 31 honorary consuls-general/consuls abroad and has 46 non-resident ambassadors and high commissioners based in Singapore.

The ministry is currently divided into 11 directorates which deal with political and economic matters, and 7 directorates which oversee matters relating to protocol, consular issues and the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP) among others.

The Corporate Affairs Directorate oversees organisational and resource management while the Human Resource Directorate and Diplomatic Academy manage the development of personnel and training.

Impact

Singapore maintains diplomatic relations with 188 countries. In Singapore, there are 70 resident foreign embassies and high commissions, 43 foreign consulates and 11 international organisations based in Singapore. In addition, more than 60 non-resident foreign ambassadors are accredited to Singapore.

Ministers

The Ministry is headed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, who is appointed as part of the Cabinet of Singapore. The incumbent minister is MP for Holland–Bukit Timah GRC Vivian Balakrishnan from the People's Action Party.

Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office		Cabinet
S. Rajaratnam MP for Kampong Glam (1915–2006)	9 August 1965	30 May 1980	PAP	Lee K. II
				Lee K. III
				Lee K. IV
				Lee K. V
S. Dhanabalan MP for Kallang (born 1937)	1 June 1980	12 September 1988	PAP	Lee K. V
				Lee K. VI
				Lee K. VII
Wong Kan Seng MP for Kuo Chuan SMC & Thomson GRC (born 1946)	13 September 1988	1 January 1994	PAP	Lee K. VIII
				Goh I
				Goh II
S. Jayakumar MP for Bedok GRC & East Coast GRC (born 1939)	2 January 1994	12 August 2004	PAP	Goh II
				Goh III
				Goh IV
George Yeo MP for Aljunied GRC (born 1954)	12 August 2004	20 May 2011	PAP	Lee H. I
George Yeo MP for Aljunied GRC (born 1954)	12 August 2004	20 May 2011	PAP	Lee H. II
K. Shanmugam MP for Nee Soon GRC (born 1959)	21 May 2011	30 September 2015	PAP	Lee H. III
Vivian Balakrishnan^[2]^[3] MP for Holland–Bukit Timah GRC (born 1961)	1 October 2015	Incumbent	PAP	Lee H. IV
				Lee H. V
				Wong I

References

^ ^a ^b "Singapore Budget" (PDF).
^ Ong, Justin (28 September 2015). "Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announces Singapore's new Cabinet". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
^ Mahmud, Aqil Haziq (25 July 2020). "PM Lee announces new Cabinet; 6 office holders promoted, 3 retirements". CNA. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.

External links

Official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

[budget2019-1] "Singapore Budget" (PDF).

[CNA_20150928-2] Ong, Justin (28 September 2015). "Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announces Singapore's new Cabinet". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 1 October 2015.

[:0-3] Mahmud, Aqil Haziq (25 July 2020). "PM Lee announces new Cabinet; 6 office holders promoted, 3 retirements". CNA. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.

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