SINGAPORE – Singapore has sworn in Lawrence Wong as its new prime minister, replacing Lee Hsien Loong following two decades in office, with the new leader warning the trade-dependent city-state faced a riskier, more conflict-ridden world.
Wong, formerly deputy prime minister, became only the second person outside of the Lee family to helm the affluent nation as he was inaugurated at the Istana government office shortly after 8:00 pm.
“We will lead in our own way. We will continue to think boldly and think far,” the 51-year-old said in his maiden speech, adding “the best chapters of our Singapore story lie ahead.”
Members of Wong’s Cabinet were also sworn in, including his predecessor Lee, 72, who was appointed to the advisory role of senior minister.
Wong also said Singaporeans “face a world of conflict and rivalry”, with geopolitical tensions, protectionism and nationalism possibly stretching for years.
“We must brace ourselves to these realities and adapt to a messier, riskier and more violent world,” said Wong.
The US-educated economist is widely seen as a social media-savvy stalwart who effectively handled the COVID-19 crisis when he oversaw the government’s pandemic task force.
“He brings a style of leadership that’s more attuned to a different generation,” said Mustafa Izzuddin, a political analyst with the Solaris Strategies Singapore consultancy.
“The core principle of what Singapore is about will remain because it is a system that has worked for many years. But I think his style may be slightly different because he comes from a different generation.”
Wong, who will remain as 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 Singapore’s independence in 1965.
Lee Kuan Yew, Lee Hsien Loong’s father, was Singapore’s first prime minister when it became a sovereign nation after a brief, unsuccessful union with Malaysia.
The stern patriarch, who once said he preferred to be feared than loved, oversaw the transformation of Singapore from a sleepy British colonial outpost to a financial hub in a little more than 30 years.
The elder Lee handed power in 1990 to his deputy, former shipping executive Goh Chok Tong, who was initially considered a “seat-warmer” for the patriarch’s son.