Halimah Yacob elected Singapore’s first woman president

Halimah Yacob, a former speaker of parliament, was declared elected as Singapore’s first woman president on Wednesday, after the returning officer announced she was the sole candidate to qualify for the contest, Reuters reports.

Aiming to strengthen a sense of inclusivity in the multicultural city-state, Singapore had decreed the presidency, a largely ceremonial post, would be reserved for candidates from the minority Malay community this time.

“Although this is a reserved election, I‘m not a reserved president,” Halimah said in a speech at the elections department office. “I‘m a president for everyone.”