Singapore’s prime minister Lee Hsien Loong will step down on May 15, with his deputy Lawrence Wong in line to take over, his office said.
Mr Lee (72) will formally advise the city-state’s president to appoint Mr Wong, who is currently deputy prime minister and finance minister, to succeed him, his office said in a statement.
Mr Wong, who has the unanimous support of legislators in the long-ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), will be sworn in on the same day, it said.
Mr Lee has served as prime minister and head of the PAP since August 2004.
He announced last November that he would retire this year and has already named Mr Wong as his designated successor. Mr Lee originally planned to step down before turning 70, but those plans were shelved because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“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,” Mr Lee said in a Facebook post on Monday.
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