(Singapore, July 26, 2020) Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has over the weekend announced his new Cabinet in a reshuffle that will see six ministries headed by new ministers.
In total, the new Cabinet will have 37 political office holders, the same as the previous Cabinet.
In a press conference announcing the Cabinet line-up, PM Lee said that providing continuity, giving ministers exposure and renewal are the three factors behind his Cabinet reshuffle.
“I’m rotating the ministers, especially the younger ones to gain exposure and experience. We regularly do this during Cabinet reshuffles, and the intent is to expose the office holders to different portfolios, to gain both breadth and depth, to understand the intricacies of the issues and to see things from different perspectives,” he added.
Mr Ong Ye Kung will move from the Education Ministry to head the Transport Ministry.
Mr Lawrence Wong will move to the Education Ministry.
Mr Desmond Lee will relinquish his role as Minister for Social and Family Development to succeed him at the National Development Ministry. He is concurrently appointed as Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration.
Ms Grace Fu will head the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, which is formerly the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR). It has been renamed to better reflect its future role.
Mr Masagos Zulkifli will move to helm Ministry of Social and Family Development. Remaining as the Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, he will take on the new role as Second Minister for Health.
Ms Indranee Rajah will be appointed Second Minister for National Development, and relinquish her appointment as Second Minister for Education. She will remain Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and as Second Minister for Finance.
Dr Tan See Leng, newly elected Member of Parliament for Marine Parade GRC, will be appointed Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry.
Two former senior ministers of state have also been promoted to full ministers. Mr Edwin Tong succeeds Ms Grace Fu as Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and will also be the Second Minister for Law while Dr Maliki Osman will be appointed as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office as well as Second Minister for Education and Foreign Affairs.
In addition, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat will be taking on an additional role as Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies.
