Singapore PM Lee to hand power to successor Wong on May 15

FILE PHOTO: Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong speaks during a joint press conference with Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (not pictured) at the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit, in Melbourne, Australia March 5, 2024. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy/File Photo

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Long-time Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced on Monday he would hand over power to his designated successor, Lawrence Wong, on May 15, ahead of an election that must be by held next year.

Wong has been prime minister-in-waiting since April 2022 after the previous anointed successor stepped aside unexpectedly and derailed the carefully choreographed leadership transition typical in the affluent Asian financial centre.