Lawrence Wong Takes Over As Singapore Prime Minister

Singapore's long-serving Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has stepped down, marking the end of a political era for the island nation.

Analysts say the transition signals an evolution in Singapore's political leadership as it moves out of the shadow of the Lee family, even though Lee will remain in the cabinet as a senior minister. I Photo: Lawrence Wong Facebook

After 20 years in power, Lee formally handed over the reins to deputy PM and finance minister Lawrence Wong, Tessa Wong reported for BBC News.

Since becoming an independent nation in 1965, Singapore has only had three prime ministers - all from the ruling People's Action Party (PAP). The first was Lee's father, Lee Kuan Yew, who is widely considered the founder of modern Singapore and led the country for 25 years.

Analysts say the transition signals an evolution in Singapore's political leadership as it moves out of the shadow of the Lee family, even though Lee will remain in the cabinet as a senior minister.

Over the weekend in his final interview as Prime Minister with local media, he thanked Singaporeans for their support. "I didn’t try to run faster than everybody else. I tried to bring everybody to run with me," he said.

"And I think we did have some success.”

He added that he had tried to "do (things) my way" in a different fashion from his father and other predecessor, Goh Chok Tong. Lee joined politics in 1984 as a backbencher while his father was still in power.

He rose up the ranks under Singapore's second Prime Minister Goh before taking the helm in 2004.