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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Rebecca Ratcliffe South-east Asia correspondent

Singapore to get guitar-playing new PM in first transfer of power for 20 years

Lawrence Wong will become the fourth prime minister to lead Singapore
Lawrence Wong will become the fourth prime minister to lead Singapore after the departure of Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday. Photograph: Sonny Tumbelaka/AP

Singapore’s prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, will stand down on Wednesday and hand power to his deputy Lawrence Wong, the first change of power in the city state in two decades.

Wong, 51, a US-trained economist credited with managing the country’s response to the pandemic, will be the fourth prime minister to lead Singapore, and is the first leader to have been born after the country’s independence in 1965. He is also only the second leader who is not a member of the founding Lee family. He will be inaugurated in a ceremony on Wednesday night.

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