(April 14): Singapore Finance Minister Lawrence Wong has been chosen as the new leader of the so-called fourth generation team, effectively paving the way for him to one day become the country’s fourth prime minister since independence in 1965.

A consultation process found “overwhelming support” for Wong among cabinet ministers, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a Facebook post on Thursday night. With this decision, adjustments to Cabinet appointments will be made and announced in due course, Lee, 70, said in a separate statement.

“Singapore will always need a strong team in charge, with a leader who can bring others together, and draw out the best of each team member,” said Lee, who has been in office since 2004. “I have every confidence that Lawrence and his team will continue to give their best for Singapore and Singaporeans.”

The appointment follows a year of uncertainty over who would lead Singapore after Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat stepped aside as heir apparent due to personal reasons. The city-state’s political succession is usually a well-choreographed affair in the small but wealthy country in which the ruling People’s Action Party has held power uninterrupted for nearly six decades.

Questions about Heng began to emerge after the party saw its worst parliamentary performance in the 2020 election despite winning 89% of seats, as the opposition pushed for measures to help low-income Singaporeans and hire locals over foreigners. When Lee announced the leadership shakeup last year, he said his goal was to identify a successor before the next election due in 2025.

Three potential successors emerged, including Wong, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung and Education Minister Chan Chun Sing. But Wong stood out and won over the public with “strong leadership” in handling the pandemic, said Nydia Ngiow, Singapore-based managing director at BowerGroupAsia, a strategic policy advisory firm.

“It’s important for the other two front-runners to show support and coalesce around him, which I expect they will do soon,” she said. “Wong has an important task ahead of him in garnering confidence in the 4G leaders.”

Show of unity

On Thursday night, all three vowed to work together to lead Singapore into the future.

“It is my privilege to be called upon to lead this team,” Wong, 49, said in a statement, adding that he was “humbled and grateful” to lead his colleagues.

“I will do my utmost to uphold this responsibility,” he said. “But as we have been reminded many times, the right to lead cannot be inherited.”

Chan offered his congratulations to Wong after the announcement. “I deeply appreciate the camaraderie that we have shared over the years and look forward to continue working closely with him and the team to tackle the challenges and seize the opportunities ahead of us,” he said on his Facebook page.

Covid response

Ong called this a “good outcome” from the succession planning process and said he would do his utmost to support Wong. “He puts his heart and soul into what he is doing and is never a seeker of credit or fanfare,” Ong said in a Facebook post.

Wong’s tenure as finance minister since May has been coloured by government efforts to move the economy further out of Covid-era crisis mode, gradually easing the support for consumers and businesses that has helped the city-state bounce back from its worst contraction since independence. In February, Wong used his maiden budget speech as Finance Minister to raise taxes for the wealthiest 1% and announce an increase in consumption levies to rebuild finances after the pandemic.

Wong entered the political fray in 2011 holding various positions in the defence, communications and information ministries. Since then, he’s been instrumental in Singapore’s pandemic response, co-chairing the Multi-Ministry Taskforce on Covid-19 and serving as deputy chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

“Together with the rest of the 4G team, I will continue to serve Singaporeans wholeheartedly, and strive to earn the trust and support of each and every one of our fellow citizens,” Wong said in his Facebook post.