Singapore
The Republic of Singapore is an island city-state in Southeast Asia, situated on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of the Indonesian Riau Islands.
Its coordinates are 1°17.583?N 103°51.333?E, just 137 km north of the Equator.
The name Singapore was derived from the Malay word singa (lion), which itself is derived from the Sanskrit word siMha of the same meaning, and the Sanskrit word pura (city).

Singapore developed from a small Malay fishing village to become a multicultural, major global city with cosmopolitan ideals. It has attracted controversy for some of its policies it has taken to achieve its development since independence in 1965.

Throughout recorded history, it has been possessed by multiple countries and empires and changed hands many times, including being in the possession of Melaka and the Sultanate of Johore in ancient history, the British Empire in the colonial era, Japanese Empire in World War II and Malaysia after merger, until its independence. After independence, government-led rapid industrialisation and open policies inviting foreign investments stimulated rapid economic growth and Singapore is presently regarded as a developed nation.

Presently, Singapore can be politically analysed as a democratic socialist country that has adopted a welfare system, although de facto it has a dominant-party system. The Government perceives Singapore as multiracial, and champions it as an ideal. The majority of the population are ethnic Chinese, with Malays, ethnic Indians and Eurasians constituting a significant minority. Singapore has little natural resources, so its economy relies on exports of electronics and manufacturing from her port. More than 90% of Singapore's population lives in housing estates constructed by the Housing Development Board and nearly half utilises the public transport system daily. As a result of public transport and environmental initiatives by government ministries, Singapore's pollutive industries are mostly isolated to heavy industry located offshore in Jurong Island.

Founded in 1819
The first records of Singapore's existence are in Chinese texts from the 3rd century. The island was an outpost of the Sumatran Srivijaya empire and originally bore the Javanese name Temasek. Temasek rose to become a significant trading city, but subsequently declined. There are few remnants of old Temasek in Singapore other than archaeological evidence. In the 15th and 16th century, Singapore was a part of the Sultanate of Johore. During the Malay-Portugal wars in 1617, Singapore was set ablaze by Portuguese troops.

In 1819, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, a British East India Company official, was was looking for a trading post to counter the Dutch influence in the Southeast Asian region and made a treaty with the Sultan of Johore to establishd Singapore as a trading post and settlement. It saw instant growth and immigration from various ethnic groups due to strategic location at the crossroads of the East and West.

In 1824, Singapore's status as a British possession was formalised by two new treaties. The first was the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of March 1824, by which the Dutch withdrew all objections to the British occupation of Singapore. The second treaty was made with Sultan Hussein and Temenggong Abdu'r Rahman in August, by which the two owners ceded the island out right to the British in return for increased cash payments and pensions.

Singapore was later made a crown colony by Britain in 1867. After a series of territorial expansions, the British Empire soon raised it as an entrepot town due to its strategic location along the busy shipping routes connecting Europe to China.

During World War II, Japanese forces invaded Malaya and the surrounding region in the Battle of Malaya, culminating in the Battle of Singapore. The British were unprepared and swiftly defeated, despite having superior numbers of troops. They surrendered to the Japanese on February 15, 1942. The Japanese renamed Singapore as Syonan-to ("Light of the South") and occupied it until the Japanese defeat September 1945.

Independence in 1959
In 1959, Singapore became a self-governing crown colony with Lee Kuan Yew from the People's Action Party (PAP) as the first Prime Minister of Singapore following the 1959 elections. PAP win 43 seats (53.4% of the total votes), out of the 51 representatives choosen for the first fully elected Legislative Assembly.

On June 3, the new Constitution confirming Singapore as a self-governing state was brought into force by the proclamation of the Governor, Sir William Goode, who became the first Yang di-Pertuan Negara (Head of State). The first Government of the State of Singapore was sworn in on June 5, with Lee Kuan Yew as Singapore's first Prime Minister.

After a national referendum in 1962, Singapore was admitted into the Federation of Malaysia along with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak as a state with autonomous powers in September 1963. After heated ideological conflict developed between the state government formed by PAP and the Federal government in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore was expelled from the federation on August 7, 1965. It gained official sovereignty two days later on August 9, 1965 with Malaysia the first country to recognise it as an independent nation, the date becoming Singapore's National Day. Singapore's National Days are celebrated with annual parades and other festivities.

Singapore Prime Ministers		Singapore Presidents
Marshall, David (Chief Minister)	6 April 1955 - 6 June 1956 (resigned)
Lim, Yew Hock (Chief Minister)	1956 - 1959	Sheares, Benjamin	1907-1981
Lee, Kwan Yew	5 June 1959 - 28 Nov 1990 (resigned)
Goh, Chok Tong	28 Nov 1990 - 12 Aug 2004	Wee, Kim Wee
Lee, Hsien Loong	12 Aug 2004 - Present	Ong, Teng Cheong	1936-2002