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Outgoing Prime Minister Lee to serve as Singapore's senior minister
Wong is due to take over from Lee on May 15.
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Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shakes hands with Finance Minister Lawrence Wong during a news conference at the Istana, in Singapore April 16, 2022. (Reuters/SPH Media)
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ingapore Prime Minister-in-waiting Lawrence Wong told media on Tuesday the city-state's incumbent leader Lee Hsien Loong would serve as a senior minister in his cabinet.
Wong is due to take over from Lee on May 15.
Wong, the current finance minister, said he would announce a new cabinet line-up a few days before he is sworn in as Singapore's fourth prime minister, the Straits Times reported. But he said any major changes would likely take place only after a general election.
"For this moment, though, there should not be any major changes because our system works on the basis of continuity and progressive change," the newspaper quoted him as telling reporters.
Lee is expected to step down next month and Wong will take over, the second non-member of the Lee family to lead the wealthy nation.
"I will relinquish my role as Prime Minister on 15 May 2024 and DPM (Deputy Prime Minister) Lawrence Wong will be sworn in as the next Prime Minister on the same day," Lee said on social media on Monday.
"I ask all Singaporeans to give Lawrence and his team your full support, and work with them to create a brighter future for Singapore."
Wong, who is also the finance minister, was chosen as Lee's heir-apparent in 2022 from a new generation of lawmakers from the People’s Action Party (PAP) which has ruled uninterrupted since independence in 1965.
"I accept this responsibility with humility and a deep sense of duty. I pledge to give you my all in this undertaking," Wong said on social media.
