Singapore PM Lee to hand power to successor on May 15

SINGAPORE — Long-time Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced on Monday he would hand over power to his designated successor, Lawrence Wong, on May 15, ahead of an election that must be held by next year.

Wong has been prime minister-in-waiting since April 2022 after the previous anointed successor stepped aside unexpectedly and derailed the carefully choreographed leadership transition typical in the affluent Asian financial center.

Wong, 51, was catapulted into the spotlight as co-head of the government's COVID-19 task force during the pandemic, restricting movement within and in and out of Singapore and overseeing contact tracing, earning him praise for helping contain infection and keeping deaths low in the city-state while also explaining policies clearly to the public.

Singapore was one of the first in Asia to quickly get back in the saddle as the pandemic eased in 2022, with business and tourism numbers picking up.

Wong served as Lee's principal private secretary from 2005 to 2008 and led the education and national development ministries before becoming finance minister in 2021 and deputy prime minister in 2022.

'Significant moment'

In a statement posted on his Facebook page, Lee, 72, prime minister since 2004 and the eldest son of modern Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew, called the leadership transition a "significant moment".

"I will relinquish my role as Prime Minister on 15 May 2024 and DPM (Deputy Prime Minister) Lawrence Wong will be sworn in as the next Prime Minister on the same day," Lee said.

"Lawrence and the 4G (fourth generation of leaders) team have worked hard to gain the people's trust, notably during the pandemic.

"I ask all Singaporeans to give Lawrence and his team your full support and work with them to create a brighter future for Singapore."

In a video statement posted on Facebook, Wong said: "I accept this responsibility with humility and a deep sense of duty. I pledge to give my all to this undertaking."

Wong is also deputy chairman of sovereign wealth fund GIC and chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the country's central bank.

In addition, he spearheaded a national exercise called Forward Singapore meant to chart the country's "social compact "between the government and the people on how to deal with issues ranging from sustainability to inequality and employment.

Agencies - Xinhua