Mr. Wong was chosen as leader of the ruling People’s Action Party’s, the so-called fourth generation team.


Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Saturday that Finance Minister Lawrence Wong would succeed him as the city-state’s leader.

The plan is for Mr. Lawrence to succeed me as PM, either before or after (if the PAP wins) the next General Election. It is due in 2025 and will surely be a tough fight,” Lee said in a social media post on Saturday.

Mr. Lee, whose father Lee Kwan Yew was the island nation’s independence leader, has been prime minister since 2004.

Stability has long been one of wealthy Singapore’s major strengths, making it a haven for investors and businesses in a region where political upheaval is not uncommon.

Mr. Wong, 49, who helped steer the Southeast Asian city-state through the Wuhan virus pandemic as co-chair of the government’s taskforce, had been tipped by analysts as a potential successor to Lee, 70.


Former PM May Lead Party in General Election

Leadership succession in the country, governed by the PAP since its 1965 independence, is normally a carefully planned affair.

But an unexpected decision last year by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat to step aside as Lee’s designated successor disrupted leadership planning.

I am already 70 and I am looking forward to handing over to Mr. Lawrence once he is ready, Mr. Lee told a news conference. He said they would later decide whether he or Mr. Wong would lead the party into the next general election.