20 Years In Office, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong Resigns May 15

Singaporean PM, Lee Hsien Loong (ANTARA PHOTO/Media Center ASEAN 2023 Summit/Rommy Pujianto/foc.)

JAKARTA - Singapore's third prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong has decided to resign from his post on May 15, 2024. Over the next one month, it will be a transition period before the new prime minister is sworn in.

Based on a written statement on the official website of the Singaporei Prime Minister's Office quoted from Antara, Monday, Lee will recommend Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to become a new prime minister to President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

Lee Hsien Loong will formally propose to the President to appoint Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong to replace him, "the statement explained.

Wong, according to the PM's office, received full support from all members of the Singaporean Parliament from the People's Action Party (PAP) which formed the current Singaporean government.

PAP currently controls 79 of the 104 seats in the Singapore Parliament, so whoever they support as prime minister is guaranteed to have majority support in Parliament.

All prime ministers of Singapore since the country's independence have until now been members of the PAP, and Wong himself is the deputy secretary general of the party.

The new Prime Minister will be sworn in by President Shanmugaratnam on May 15, 2024 at the State Palace in Singapore at 8 am local time, the statement said.

However, the statement did not explain the reason for Lee's resignation, who in 2024 was 72 years old and entered his 20th year as prime minister.

Throughout the history of his country, Singapore has only carried out the transition of its head of government twice since its independence from Malaysia in 1965.

His first Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, served for 31 years from 1959 to 1990. From 1959 to 1965, Lee led as head of Singapore when he was still part of the Malaysian Federation.

Following his resignation, Lee was replaced by his deputy prime minister, Goh Chok Tong, as Singapore's second prime minister to serve from 1990 to 2004. Goh was later replaced by Lee Hsien Loong, who served from 2004 to May.

Given the importance of Lee Kuan Yew's role in Singapore's development, Lee Hsien Loong appointed him as Minister of Mentor in charge of overseeing Singapore's leadership transition in his cabinet from 2004 to 2011. Lee Hsien Loong himself is the son of Lee Kuan Yew.

Thus, the transition from Lee to Wong on May 15 will be the transition of the three heads of government in the country.