Lawrence Wong has been sworn in as Singapore’s first new prime minister in 20 years.
This will be the country’s fourth leader since independence, capping off a carefully calibrated power transfer aimed at ensuring continuity in the wealthy city-state.
Wong, 51, comes from among a crop of so-called “4G” leaders, a new generation of politicians that were hand-picked by the long-ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) to take over the reins of the key Asian trade and financial centre.
Wong will retain his current position as finance minister and takes charge of a country led for two decades by Lee Hsien Loong, the 72-year-old son of Lee Kuan Yew, the founder of modern Singapore who stayed in politics until his death in 2015.
The succession has been long in the making, with Lee’s ambitions to stand aside before the age of 70 derailed by the pandemic, as well as a transition blunder when his designated successor abruptly ruled himself out of the race in 2021.
Wong rose to prominence in 2020 as co-chair of the pandemic taskforce, and he was named Lee’s successor in April 2022 following a series of meetings between the political leadership and Wong’s colleagues.
Wong made a modest cabinet move on Monday, upgrading the trade minister to become his deputy, citing continuity and stability as essential concerns. He has promised a larger rearrangement following the upcoming election next year.
Lee will remain in Wong’s government as a senior minister, as previous Singapore prime leaders have done.
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