SINGAPORE: Forbes recently published a list of the highest-paid country heads in the world, and perhaps to no one’s surprise, the Prime Minister of Singapore took the number one spot.
Lawrence Wong, sworn in as Prime Minister on May 15, is the only country head whose income is more than US$1 million, earning US$1.69 million (S$2.2 million) yearly.
Forbes wrote that his salary stands at “1,158 per cent of the per-capita GDP of the city-state of US$141,500” (S$183,235). He earns approximately as much as the combined annual salaries of the next four country heads on Forbes’ list.
Taking second place on the list, which is based on data from Statista, is Viola Amherd, who has been the President of the Swiss Confederation since Jan 1 of this year. Her salary, however, is less than a third of PM Wong’s.
Nevertheless, Ms Amherd takes home US$570,000 (S$738,000).
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who earns US$413,000 (S$535,000), is third on the list, closely followed by United States President Joseph Biden, whose pay is US$400,000 (S$518,000).
Rounding out the top five is Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, with a salary of US$317,000 (S$411,000).
Forbes noted that should the salaries of the leaders of non-sovereign states be taken into consideration as well, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, John Lee Ka-chiu, come in second to PM Wong. His salary is US$700,000 (S$907,000) per year.
Meanwhile, Ursula van der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, would edge out the Austrian head of government in the fifth spot since she earns US$358,000 (S$464,000) annually.
Why are political salaries in Singapore so high?
In 2011, then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the appointment of an independent committee to review the political salaries to make sure that the salary framework remained relevant for the future.
The salaries of the President, Prime Minister, Speaker of Parliament, Deputy Speaker of Parliament, political appointment holders, and Members of Parliament (MPs), including Non-Constituency MPs and Nominated MPs were covered in the review.
Here are the three principles the committee kept in mind in determining political salaries:
1. Salaries must be competitive so that people of the right calibre are not deterred from stepping forward to lead the country.
2. The ethos of political service entails making sacrifices, and hence, there should be a discount in the pay formula.
3. There should be a “clean wage” with no hidden perks.
/TISG
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