Lawrence Wong is new S’pore PM

Passing the torch: Wong (left) shaking hands with Lee during the swearing-in ceremony at the istana. -AFP

The country’s new Prime Minister Lawrence Wong vowed to make “tomorrow better than today” as he took his oath of office in a carefully planned political succession designed to ensure stability in the Asian financial hub.

A US-trained economist, Wong, 51, succeeds Lee Hsien Loong, 72, who stepped down after two decades. He is the city-state’s fourth leader and the first born after Singapore’s independence in 1965.