The president appoints the prime minister on the advice and consent of the Cabinet of Singapore.

The prime minister only governs with the confidence of the majority in Parliament; as such, the prime minister typically sits as a Member of Parliament (MP) and leads the largest party or a coalition of parties.

Hence, in practice, the prime minister, as the Cabinet's leader, does most of the actual work of governing.

[12] The prime minister also advises the president on appointments, such as Attorney-General, and Permanent Secretary of a ministry.

[18] Since 2024 however, Sri Temasek has been the working office of the Prime Minister due to the ongoing renovations at The Istana, as confirmed by Lawrence Wong in his National Day Address.

[21] The prime minister is also on the Medisave-cum-Subsidised Outpatient (MSO) scheme—where an additional 2% of their gross monthly salary will be credited into their Medisave account.

[23] Nonetheless, Singapore's prime minister remains the world's highest-paid political leader.