Istana 5.36

The Istana is the official residence and office of the President of Singapore. Meaning "palace" in Malay, it is where the President receives and entertains state guests. The Istana is also the working office of the Prime Minister of Singapore. The current president, Halimah Yacob, has indicated that she will continue to live in her HDB flat in Yishun.The 106-acre (0.4-km²) estate was once part of the extensive nutmeg plantation of Mount Sophia. In 1867, the British colonial government acquired the land and built a mansion to be the official home of the British governor. This continued until 1959 when Singapore was granted self-government, and the governor was replaced by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara, who was in turn replaced by the President.HistoryBritish Colonial PeriodThe Istana was built between 1867 and 1869 on the instructions of Sir Harry Saint George Ord, Singapore's first colonial governor after the transfer from the East India Company to the Colonial Office. It was formerly known as "Government House". The architect was Major John Frederick Adolphus McNair. Within the same compound is Sri Temasek, one of several senior colonial officers' residences in the Istana previously assigned to the Colonial Secretary.Sir Harry's desire for a stately governor's residence arose from his dissatisfaction with the leased housing on Grange Hill and Leonie Hill that Governors had to make do with. An earlier governor's residence on Bukit Larangan (now Fort Canning), a flimsy timber structure, had been torn down to make way for the fort and was never replaced.