Singapore’s Deputy Leader Lawrence Wong To Be Sworn In As Fourth PM

Singapore, May 15, 2024, By News On Air

Singapore’s deputy leader Lawrence Wong is set to be sworn in as the nation’s fourth Prime Minister today. Fifty-one-old US-trained economist Mr Wong will succeed 72-year-old Lee Hsien Loong, who stepped down after two decades at the helm. Lee’s resignation marked the end of a family dynasty led by his father Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s charismatic first leader who built the colonial trading outpost into a business-friendly, affluent country during 31 years in office.

Wong, a civil servant turned politician, came to prominence while coordinating the successful fight against COVID-19  in the tiny nation of some six million people.Lee will stay on as a senior minister, a path taken by all former premiers.

Since becoming an independent nation in 1965, Singapore has only had three Prime Ministers – all from the ruling People’s Action Party.