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Smiles and congratulations as Halimah sworn in

SINGAPORE — It was a night filled with smiles and congratulatory greetings at the Istana yesterday as Madam Halimah Yacob was sworn in as the Republic’s eighth President, making her the first woman here to occupy the highest office of the land.

President Halimah Yacob and her husband Mohamed Alhabshee posing for a ‘wefie’ with guests, including former President Tony Tan and his wife Mary Tan, and Ms Ho Ching. Photo: Ministry of Communications and Information

President Halimah Yacob and her husband Mohamed Alhabshee posing for a ‘wefie’ with guests, including former President Tony Tan and his wife Mary Tan, and Ms Ho Ching. Photo: Ministry of Communications and Information

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SINGAPORE — It was a night filled with smiles and congratulatory greetings at the Istana yesterday as Madam Halimah Yacob was sworn in as the Republic’s eighth President, making her the first woman here to occupy the highest office of the land.

The 63-year-old had arrived at the Istana’s Ceremonial Plaza in a motorcade at about 6pm, wearing a beige tudung, dark brown top and patterned beige skirt, a departure from her recent signature orange garb.

The colour — which Mdm Halimah said signifies unity — had been central to her presidential campaign.

The former Speaker of Parliament was warmly greeted by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his wife, Ms Ho Ching.

After receiving a welcome from a guard of honour assembled at the plaza, Mdm Halimah conducted a parade inspection for the first time as President-elect, along with Mr Lee, and then stood still for the singing of the National Anthem. They then proceeded to the Istana’s State Room, where the inauguration ceremony started at about 6.20pm with a second rendition of the National Anthem.

Mdm Halimah officially began her six years as President with a solemn oath-taking, which was witnessed by Mr Lee and Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon.

In a speech after the swearing-in that drew rounds of applause from the audience, Mr Lee noted that it was a “significant moment in our history”.

With Mdm Halimah listening on intently, he added that the President should be a unifying figure for the nation.

Following Mdm Halimah’s own welcome speech, in which she pledged “to continue this journey of service to our country”, she and Mr Lee made their way back to the Ceremonial Plaza to take a group photo with Cabinet ministers.

The newly inaugurated President shook hands with Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Teo Chee Hean and also exchanged a few light-hearted words with DPM Tharman Shanmugaratnam, before the group went back into the State Room for a private dinner reception.

About 200 invited guests attended the inauguration ceremony. They included Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament, members of the judiciary, top civil servants and top diplomats from several Asean neighbours, as well as other countries including China and Japan.

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