Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Singapore)


The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for conducting and managing diplomatic relations between Singapore and other countries and regions. It is headed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the office currently held by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.

History

The Ministry was established on 9 August 1965.

Responsibilities

The MFA provides consular assistance to Singaporeans travelling, working and studying overseas.

Organisational structure

The Ministry now has 50 overseas missions including 7 High Commissions, 21 Embassies, 4 Permanent Missions to the United Nations, and 17 consulates. Singapore has appointed 31 Honorary Consuls-General/Consuls abroad and has 46 non-resident Ambassadors and High Commissioners based in Singapore.
The MFA is currently divided into 11 Directorates which deal with political and economic matters, and 7 Directorates which oversee matters relating to protocol, consular issues and the Singapore Cooperation Programme among others. The Corporate Affairs Directorate oversees organisational and resource management while the Human Resource Directorate and Diplomatic Academy manage the development of personnel and training.

Impact

maintains diplomatic relations with 188 countries. In Singapore, there are 70 resident foreign Embassies and High Commissions, 43 foreign Consulates, and 11 International Organisations based in Singapore. In addition, more than 60 non-resident foreign Ambassadors are accredited to Singapore.

Ministers

The Ministry is headed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, who is appointed as part of the Cabinet of Singapore. The position is currently held by Vivian Balakrishnan.
PortraitNamePartyTook officeLeft officeTenurePrime MinisterRef.
Sinnathamby RajaratnamPAP9 8 196530 5 1980Lee Kuan Yew
Suppiah DhanabalanPAP1 6 198012 9 1988Lee Kuan Yew
Wong Kan SengPAP13 9 19881 1 1994Lee Kuan Yew
Goh Chok Tong
Shunmugam JayakumarPAP2 1 199412 8 2004Goh Chok Tong
George YeoPAP12 8 200420 5 2011Lee Hsien Loong
Kasiviswanathan ShanmugamPAP21 5 201130 9 2015Lee Hsien Loong
Vivian BalakrishnanPAP1 10 2015presentLee Hsien Loong