Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is to step down on May 15 with his deputy Lawrence Wong taking over, he revealed on Monday.
The 72-year-old prime minister is to step down after a tenure lasting two decades.
In an announcement he made last November, Lee said he would retire and pass the baton on to 51-year-old successor Wong who is to be sworn in at the national palace.
He will become only the city state’s fourth leader since its independence in 1965, when it broke away from the Federation of Malaysia.
Plans for Lee to step down follow him initially planning to retire ahead of his 70th birthday in 2020. These plans were shortly shelved with the arrival of Covid-19, however - the time Wong came to prominence as Singapore coordinated its standing in the world as it was faced with teething problems of the pandemic.
On a Facebook post published on Monday, Lee wrote: “For any country, a leadership transition is a significant moment. Lawrence and the 4G (fourth-generation) 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.”
Lee has served as prime minister and head of the People’s Action Party (PAP) since August 2004 and is the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first prime minister who built the resource-poor city-state into one of the world’s richest nations. He spent 31 years in office and passed away in 2015 at the age of 91.
PAP, one of the world’s longest-serving parties, retained its super majority with 83 out of 93 parliamentary seats in the 2020 general elections. The party at the time, was performing at its worst, however, as support declined and as it lost seats.
Singapore is one of the wealthiest nations but receives criticism to date over its use of oppressive laws and media censorship.
