Halimah binte Yacob (born 23 August 1954) is a politician from Singapore. A member of the country's governing People's Action Party (PAP), she is currently the ninth Speaker of Parliament, having assumed office on 14 January 2013. She is the first woman to hold this post in the Republic's history. She is the third consecutive Speaker belonging to a minority race, after Abdullah Tarmugi and Michael Palmer.