SINGAPORE: Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong will succeed Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam as the chairman of both the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and a committee in the GIC.
The MAS announced on Monday that Mr Wong’s appointment will take effect on July 8 and run till May 31, 2026. Mr Wong has been the central bank’s deputy chairman since June 2021, and a board member from June 2011 to August 2016.
Mr. Tharman is vacating his seat in Parliament and his ministerial roles as he retires from politics to make a bid for the 2023 Singaporean Presidential Election.
“I wish to inform you that I have decided to put myself forward as a candidate in the forthcoming presidential election. I hence wish to retire from politics and all my positions in Government,” he said in a letter to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Thursday. PM Lee is also secretary-general of the People’s Action Party (PAP).
The veteran politician is the clear establishment pick and is set to possibly become Singapore’s fourth PAP MP-turned-President out of Singapore’s five elected presidencies if he gets elected.
Mr Wong, meanwhile, will succeed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as head of government once PM Lee steps down at some point. It is unclear when this leadership transition will take place.
According to MAS, Mr Wong has been appointed as MAS chairman for a term starting on July 8 and extending to the end of May 2026.
The central bank also announced that Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong will be appointed as Deputy Chairman of MAS and serve as a member of its Board of Directors.
Tharman might become 4th PAP minister and 3rd DPM to become President, out of 5 elected presidencies
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