Yusof bin Ishak

Yusof bin Ishak Al-Haj (/ˈjʊsɒf bɪn ˈɪshɑːk/ YUUSS-off bin ISS-hahk; 12 August 1910 – 23 November 1970) was a Singaporean journalist, civil servant, and politician who served as the head of state of Singapore from 1959 to 1970, as the second Yang di-Pertuan Negara of Singapore between 1959 and 1965 and the first president of Singapore between 1965 and 1970.

Born in the Federated Malay States, Yusof received his education in Malaysia and Singapore, graduating from Raffles Institution in 1929. Upon his graduation, he worked in journalism, creating a sports magazine with friends before joining Warta Malaya, a Malay-language daily newspaper. Leaving Warta in 1938, Yusof co-founded Utusan Melayu, a newspaper more centred on Malay issues, in 1939 with other Malay figures in Singapore.