Is this Singapore’s next PM? Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat is poised to succeed Lee Hsien Loong
- Insiders and observers have said the person who is made first assistant secretary general – a position traditionally held by a deputy prime minister – will succeed Lee
- The PAP, in power since 1959, has a selection process for the prime ministership that observers say matches how cardinals pick a pope
Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) will likely name Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat as its first assistant secretary general, local media said on Thursday, indicating the 57-year-old career public servant is poised to become the city state’s next prime minister.
Following party polls on November 11, the PAP is expected to announce a new line-up of its top leadership on Friday that will provide the firmest indication on who will succeed 66-year-old Lee Hsien Loong.
Insiders and observers have said the person who is made first assistant secretary general – a position traditionally held by a deputy prime minister – will succeed Lee as the country’s fourth prime minister.
Lee, son of the country’s founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, has been in power since 2004 after he succeeded Goh Chok Tong. Following a general election in 2015, Lee said he planned to step down before he turns 70.
The local Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao reported “there are indications” Heng will be handed the first assistant secretary general position, while trade and industry minister Chan Chun Sing will likely be made the second assistant secretary general.