Singapore: Lawrence Wong holds the rope to succeed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong

Singapore's new Deputy Prime Minister, Lawrence Wong, is tipped to succeed Lee Hsien Loong (Illustrative image).

© ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP

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1 min

In Singapore, the Minister of Finance, Lawrence Wong, becomes the number 2 in the government and confirms his position as successor to Lee Hsien Loong, current Prime Minister and son of the founding father of Singapore, Lee Kwan Yew.

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With our correspondent in Southeast Asia,

In the small state of Singapore, where the party of the founding father has reigned continuously since 1959, this news is capital, but it was also eagerly awaited.

In April, the Prime Minister had already hinted that Lawrence Wong would be his successor, and it is therefore thanks to a reshuffle that he has meanwhile appointed this last Deputy Prime Minister.

In recent years, Wong has gained notoriety for spearheading Singapore's uncompromising COVID-19 plan, which boasts a relatively low death toll during the pandemic.

On this occasion, Wong, a former civil servant who gradually rose through the ranks of the ruling party, emerged from the relative discretion that surrounds him by bursting into tears in Parliament as he thanked the nursing staff.

A departing prime minister

Now, Deputy Prime Minister, the next step for Wong will therefore be to become the 4th Prime Minister of Singapore, at a date which remains uncertain.

In theory, the current Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, was supposed to step down this year on his 70th birthday in February, but that deadline was ultimately missed as the first intended successor to his post was was then withdrawn.

►Also read: Singapore: the Prime Minister's nephew sentenced for criticizing the government

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