Legislative Assembly of Singapore


The Legislative Assembly of the State of Singapore was the legislature of the government of Singapore from 1955 to 1965 and the predecessor of the Parliament of Singapore. The Rendel Constitution, proposed in 1953, sought to give the local population more self-governance as the Merdeka independence movement grew. This Constitution took effect upon the conclusion of the general election of 1955, creating a new Legislative Assembly to replace the Legislative Council of Singapore. In contrast to the Legislative Council, the majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly in 1955 were allotted by election rather than appointment by the colonial administration. 25 seats were elected and 7 were appointed. The colonial administration still reserved significant power, such as that of veto and control of certain aspects of government.
Ensuing activism for self-governance by David Marshall and Lim Yew Hock led to a further amendment of the Constitution of Singapore in 1958, which proposed a fully elected body of 51 seats. This proposal took effect upon the conclusion of the 1959 general election. Upon the independence of Singapore in 1965, the Legislative Assembly was renamed the Parliament of Singapore.

List of sessions

Legislative AssemblyCommencedSessionSession datesDissolvedBy-elections
1st
22 April 19551st22 April 1955 – 7 June 195631 March 19591957
1st
22 April 19552nd29 August 1956 – 8 January 195831 March 19591957
1st
22 April 19553rd9 April 1958 – 19 March 195931 March 19591957
2nd
1 July 19591st1 July 1959 – 1 June 19603 September 19631961
2nd
1 July 19592nd20 July 1960 – 20 July 19613 September 19631961
2nd
1 July 19593rd31 October 1961 – 13 July 19623 September 19631961
2nd
1 July 19594th27 March 1963 – 1 August 19633 September 19631961
3rd
22 October 19631st22 October 1963 – 16 June 19659 August 1965
1965