Singapore’s Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong has officially announced his plans to retire and hand over power to Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong as early as next year, before the upcoming 2025 general election. His initial plan was to step down after turning 70 however, the COVID pandemic hindered his original timeline.
Lee has been in charge of the long-ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) and prime minister since 2004. The 50-year-old politician was chosen by PAP to be PM Lee’s successor with Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat originally being tapped for this role.
However, after PAP faced one of its worst election performances in 2020, Heng stepped down from contention for this position.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he will hand over power to Lawrence Wong as early as next year https://t.co/7rdZaedw3U
— Bloomberg (@business) November 5, 2023
At a party conference on Sunday, PM Lee expressed his full confidence in Deputy Prime Minister Wong leading Singapore into the future. He intends to transfer authority before the next general election so that citizens will have an opportunity for their say in who leads them going forward.
With emotion in his voice, he noted that he was thankful for all his time served and would do whatever necessary to ensure Wong is successful as leader and victorious during the upcoming general election.
Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong rose up during the coordination efforts against COVID-19 within Singapore making him a well known figure throughout the city state. If elected in 2025 as expected by many analysts, he is set to become only fourth leader since independence which occurred back 1965 when founding father Lee Kuan Yew became first head of government for Singapore.
While it is widely acknowledged that Kuan Yew transformed resource poor island into one among world’s wealthiest nations, there have been criticisms directed at restrictive government control along with media censorship and oppressive laws implemented throughout country’s history.
