(Image source from: Reuters.com)

Tharman Shanmugaratnam, a distinguished economist is the third Indian-origin person elected as the ninth president of Singapore. Presidential elections were held on September 2nd. He will lead Singapore for the next six years. He was born to Tamil ancestors from the 19th century in Singapore to the Singapore Indian Community.

Tharman was born on February 25th 1957 in Singapore. The 66-year-old Tharman is an economist, sportsman and poet. In 2011 Tharman first contested in the presidential elections. Current Singapore President Halimah Yacob’s six-year term will end on September 13. She served the country for six years.

Tharman married a Singaporean lawyer of mixed Chinese and Japanese ancestry. He has three children. He is the son of K Shanmugaratnam, a medical scientist and was known as the father of pathology in Singapore.

Tharman has pursued degrees from the prestigious Wolfson College at the University of Cambridge and got a Master of Philosophy degree in Economics. He also got his Master in Public Administration (MPA) degree from Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University. An economist by profession has completely dedicated his life to social service.

He thanked Singaporeans on his Facebook page. He wrote, “My fellow Singaporeans, I am truly humbled by the strong endorsement you have given me in our nation's presidential election. My fellow candidates put full effort and energy into their campaigns and made this a worthy contest. I thank and commend them,”