Singapore's Prime Minister announces his departure, formally names successor

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is stepping down from office on 15 May 2024, and has formally declared Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong as his successor.

In a brief announcement released on 15 April, the Prime Minister's Office stated that the handover will take place on the same day, and that Wong has the "unanimous support" of members of Parliament from the ruling People's Action Party.

Wong's candidacy as the next prime minister was announced in 2022, following several years of speculation about who would succeed Lee. He will be Singapore's 4th prime minister in 65 years. Lee held office for 20 years, his predecessor Goh Chok Tong held office for 14 years, and Lee's father, Singapore's independence leader Lee Kuan Yew, stood as prime minister for 31 years.

An economist by training and a career civil servant, Wong's stance on making Singapore's workforce future-ready has been a progressive one. In speeches and parliamentary motions, he has frequently raised the issue of how economic and technological disruption, including digitalisation, will affect workers, and has flagged out concerns around the aging society and workforce.

Wong has also been a strong advocate of skills upgrading and business and workforce transformation as a response to these challenges. Singapore's Budget 2024, which he delivered in February, was notable for directing a large tranche of funding towards upskilling mid-career workers.

In a response to the announcement posted on his Facebook page, Wong remarked that when he entered politics in 2011, he had not expected to fetch up in the position of the next Prime Minister of Singapore.

Photo: People's Action Party, accompanying a November 2023 statement by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (right) that he intended to hand over his seat to Wong (left) shortly.