Successor of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong

During a press conference on April 16, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (70 years old) officially announced that Finance Minister Lawrence Wong (Hoang Tuan Tai, Mr. 50) will be the head of the fourth generation of leaders (4G) of the People’s Action Party (PAP) and will be the next prime minister of the People’s Action Party (PAP). Singapore if the party wins the next general election, according to Channel News Asia.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister Lawrence Wong Singapore Ministry of Information and Communications

Born “ordinary”

The organization to choose a new leader to lead the PAP is said to be a reluctant decision of the party because the previous “seed” was former Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, Mr. Wong’s predecessor at the Ministry of Finance, April. last year unexpectedly withdrew due to “age and health“. Support for the ruling PAP party has been said to have declined in recent times, but that does not mean that Mr. Wong is undervalued in terms of capacity.

Contrary to Prime Minister Lee, Mr. Wong comes from a “popular” family with his father being an employee business of Chinese descent, and her mother is an elementary school teacher. According to the newspaper The Straits TimesFrom a young age, he was a personality student when he missed the opportunity to study in “elite” schools to study close to home and friends. Besides, he is also a bookworm and loves music. After entering college, he won a government scholarship and obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics in the US. After that, he also earned a master’s degree in public administration from the prestigious Harvard University.

After returning home, Mr. Wong worked as a civil servant in many key government ministries from finance, commerce to health. In 2005 – 2008, he worked as the personal secretary of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Early in his career, Mr. Wong turned down many attractive offers from the private sector to stay in government because it allowed him to work on projects that helped Singaporeans.

In 2011, he was elected to the National Assembly and officially became a Minister in 2014. Cultural, Community and Youth. After that, he in turn held the position of ministers of the following ministries: National Development, Education, Finance. In 2020, he became a member of the PAP Central Executive Committee for the first time.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr. Wong became the co-chair of the government’s anti-epidemic task force and a prominent face in the response to the crisis. During his address to the National Assembly in March 2020, Mr. Wong burst into tears when he thanked frontline workers against the epidemic.

Singapore Finance Minister Lawrence Wong Reuters

Vibrant and peaceful

Calmness, ability to explain policy His clarity, detail and regular appearances at press conferences helped Mr. Wong make a mark on the public and officials. Observers say that Mr. Wong’s performance in the Covid-19 pandemic, combined with his image as an aggressive official, sets him apart from other candidates, as the PAP seeks support. of young voters.

Sheet Nikkei Asia quotes political science professor Meredith Weiss at State University New York (USA) commented that Mr. Wong has built the image of a person who is not only capable but also gentle and rational. Ms. Weiss assessed that Mr. Wong’s role in the Covid-19 task force and previous ministerial posts had helped bring support to him.

In the selection conducted since March, Mr Wong became the top choice among 15 potential candidates with 79% support. Besides Mr. Wong, no name won more than 2 votes out of 19 votes in the PAP. The process of choosing the next leader of the PAP, the continuously ruling party in the island nation lion since 1959, carefully prepared. The upcoming leadership change is all the more sensitive as it marks the transfer of power from the Ly family to a new generation.

In the last election in 2020, the opposition won their best result, while the PAP maintained its dominance, but its approval rating dropped compared to 2015. Ms. Weiss said the Arousing public enthusiasm for the PAP to stay in power will not be an easy task in the face of the force of change.