Lawrence Wong

Lawrence Wong is the prime minister of Singapore and minister for Finance. Succeeding Lee Hsien Loong, Wong assumed office as Singapore’s fourth prime minister in May 2024. Wong has been the country’s finance minister since 2021, and has previously served as deputy prime minister.

Wong is also a member of the GIC Board and chairs the GIC’s Investment Strategies Committee. He is the deputy secretary-general of the People’s Action Party, and was first elected as a member of parliament in 2011. He has also held ministerial appointments in the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, the Ministry of National Development, and the Ministry of Education, and was also the chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Wong helped lead the Singapore government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic as co-chair of a multi-ministry task force. Along with minister for trade and industry Gan Kim Yong and minister for health Ong Ye Kung, Wong decided on national health and safety measures and communicated information to the public via televised press conferences and online videos. One such initiative involved Wong and Ong appearing in a Facebook video to address queries about topics such as booster shots and vaccination-differentiation measures.

Wong, who earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School, oversees the country’s fiscal policies and the structure of its economy in his present role. He has previously held appointments at the ministries of Defence, Communications and Information, National Development, and Education, among others. Before entering politics in 2011, he worked as a civil servant, occupying roles such as chief executive officer of the Energy Market Authority.