Halimah binte Yacob (born 23 August 1954) is a Singaporean politician and lawyer who was the eighth president of Singapore from 2017 to 2023, making her the first woman to serve in this role after being elected uncontested in the 2017 presidential election.

A former member of Singapore's long-dominant People's Action Party (PAP), Halimah served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Bukit Batok East division of the Jurong Group Representation Constituency (GRC) from 2001 to 2015 and then for the Marsiling division of the Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC from 2015 to 2017. She became Singapore's first female speaker of parliament, a position she held from 2013 to 2017.

Following a constitutional amendment in 2016, the 2017 presidential election was reserved for candidates from the Malay community. To qualify, Halimah resigned from the People's Action Party (PAP) and her position as Member of Parliament (MP), with her Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC division covered by other members. She ran as an independent candidate, as required for eligibility, and subsequently won in an uncontested election because her rivals did not meet the necessary qualifications.

During her presidency, Halimah utilised her discretionary powers to approve emergency funding for Singapore's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and advocated for women's rights. She chose not to seek re-election in the 2023 presidential election, concluding her term on 13 September 2023, after which she was succeeded by Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

Halimah was born on 23 August 1954 at her family home on Queen Street in Singapore during British colonial rule, to an Indian father and Malay mother. Her father was a watchman who died due to a heart attack when she was eight years old, leaving her and four siblings to be brought up by her mother. Her family was in poverty at the time of her father's death, and she helped her mother to sell nasi padang outside the former Singapore Polytechnic (now Bestway Building) along Prince Edward Road.

Halimah attended Singapore Chinese Girls' School and Tanjong Katong Girls' School. She graduated from the University of Singapore (now the National University of Singapore (NUS)) in 1978 with a Bachelor of Laws and was called to the Singapore Bar in 1981. Halimah earned a Master of Laws from NUS in 2001 and received an honorary Doctor of Law degree from NUS in 2016.

Halimah began her career in 1978 as a legal officer at the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and was appointed director of its legal services department in 1992. She advanced within NTUC, holding roles such as assistant director of the Research Unit, Director of the Women's Development Secretariat, and Executive Secretary of the United Workers of Electronics and Electrical Industries. She also served as Assistant Secretary-General from 1999 to 2007 and Deputy Secretary-General from 2007 to 2011. In 1999, Halimah became the director of the Singapore Institute of Labour Studies (now Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute). She was elected as the Workers' Vice-chairperson of the Standards Committee of the International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva, serving from 2000 to 2002 and in 2005. Between 2003 and 2004, she was the Workers' Spokesperson for the ILC Committee on Human Resources Development and Training.

Her first political candidacy began in the 2001 general election, where she joined a five-member People's Action Party (PAP) team running for Jurong GRC, led by Minister Lim Boon Heng. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who would later succeed her as president, also made his political debut alongside her in this election. Halimah represented Bukit Batok East as an MP until 2015, after which she was elected to represent the newly-formed Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC from 2015 to 2017.