Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong today gave a strong indication that he will be stepping down from office at the completion of his term in 2020.
The recently re-elected Prime Minister gave this indication today, introducing his new Cabinet, which includes a few new faces. The most important change to the structure of the Cabinet is the introduction of three coordinating ministers, each of whom will oversee a handful of related ministries. Meanwhile, Two Ministries – Ministry of Education (MOE) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) – will have two Ministers each, indicating the government’s priorities.
“Today, I am announcing my new Cabinet line-up, which is in keeping with the responsibility we have been trusted with – to provide Singapore with a competent Government and to prepare the next team of leaders to be ready to take over from me and my senior colleagues soon after the next GE [General Election],” Lee said.
The Prime Minister led his People’s Action Party to a landslide election victory on September 11, proving many a prediction wrong. A number of analysts had predicted that the PAP was facing its most challenging election in history. Following the setback in 2011, the PAP had mounted a comprehensive campaign which paid dividends.
Born in 1952, Lee Hsien Loong was first elected to Parliament in 1984 and held Cabinet positions since 1987. He was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in 1990 when his father Lee Kuan Yew stepped down as Prime Minister. He also served as Minister for Finance from 2001 to 2007, and was elected Prime Minister in 2004. Before entering politics, he served in the Singapore Army, rising to the rank of Brigadier General.
Even if he resigns as Prime Minister in 2020, it would not mean the end of Lee’s career in politics. Although he stepped down as Prime Minister in 1990, Lee Kuan Yew remained in Cabinet, first as a Senior Minister from 1990, and then as a Minister Mentor from 2004. When Singapore’s second Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong resigned in 2004, he remained as a Senior Minister.
