Nathan, S R

Sellappan Ramanathan (1924–2016), known as S.R. Nathan, was the sixth and the longest serving (12 years) president of Singapore. He has held various senior positions in the ministries of defence, home affairs and foreign affairs and also as ambassador to the United States and high commissioner to Malaysia.

He also served the Indian community as a founding member of SINDA and chairman of the Hindu Endowment Board. Born in Singapore, Nathan had his primary education at Anglo-Chinese Primary School, Rangoon Road School and his secondary education at Victoria School. At the age of 16, he was expelled from school after being accused of stealing a classmate's books. After this incident, Nathan left his home and was determined to return only as a respected member of the society. He got a job as a clerk in Muar, Malaysia. After working there for four years, he returned to Singapore during the Japanese occupation (1942-45).  He learned the Japanese language and became a translator for the Japanese police force. After the war, he worked as a clerk in the public service and later pursued his education, graduating from the University of Malaya with a degree in sociology in 1954.

As his study for the charter was maritime related, he was appointed as a seafarers welfare officer. At that point in time, Singapore was facing employee strikes and protests, and Nathan was appointed as the deputy director of the National Trades Union Congress's Labor Research Department, and he rose to directorship in 1962. Later, in 1966, Nathan was transferred to the ministry of foreign affairs (MFA) and held the posts of assistant secretary and deputy secretary till 1971. He then served as director of security and intelligence division in the ministry of defence (1971-79) before returning to MFA as permanent secretary in 1982. He then took over as chairman of The Straits Times Press (1982-1988).

Later, he served as High Commissioner to Malaysia and Ambassador to the United States (1988 to 1996). In 1996, he took on the posts of Singapore’s ambassador-at-large and director of the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (now known as S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies) at the Nanyang Technological University. Nathan was also involved in social service among his varied responsibilities, most notably as a founding member and trustee (1991-99) of SINDA. 

Then he was elected twice as the country's president and retired after serving a total of 12 years (1999-2011). Nathan was the first Tamil to take office as president of Singapore. During his tenure as president, he impressed the Tamils by speaking in Tamil without hesitation. He showed special interest in the Tamil organisations. After that, he worked as a senior research fellow in academic institutions such as Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and Singapore Management University. He published his biography in English in two books -- An Unexpected Journey: Path to the Presidency (2011), and S R Nathan: 50 Stories from My Life (2013). Nathan passed away in 2016 at the age of 92 due to ill health.

Awards for his public service include the Public Service Star Award (1964), Distinguished Service Award (1974), Lifetime Achievement Award (2015) and Singapore's highest public service award, the Order of Temasek (First Class) in 2013. In his honour, the National University of Singapore established the S.R. Nathan Professorship in Social Work in 2012. In recognition of his unique contributions, the Institute of Policy Studies established the S.R. Nathan Fellowship for the study of Singapore. Nathan, who worked his way up from being an expelled student to the country's first citizen, quipped that "while I recommend working hard and getting ahead, I don't recommend running away from home as a child." He left his mark in many domains such as government, university, trade union, media, social service and charity. His legacy is considered valuable and enduring. Given his extraordinary common touch and outreach to ordinary people, S R Nathan is often referred to as ‘People’s President’.



For more Information
Chua, Alvin. “S. R. Nathan.” Singapore Infopedia. Published 4 December 2023. https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/article-detail?cmsuuid=4c462235-1a9b-46a5-b000-cdcfd59ec6c6
Koh, Tommy, Timothy Auger, Jimmy Yap, and Wei Chian Ng, eds. Singapore: The Encyclopedia. Editions Didier Millet and National Heritage Board, 2006. (Call no. 959.57003 SIN -[HIS]) 


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The information in this article is valid as of August 2025 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. If you have any feedback on this article, please submit here.