SINGAPORE : Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong was elected as the deputy secretary-general of the People's Action Party PAP on Saturday after a meeting of the party's top decision-making body.
In a news release, the party said that the CEC Central Executive Committee has made a new deputy secretary-general appointment, in addition to two assistant secretary-general appointments, in line with plans for the party leadership transition. The education minister Chan Chun Sing and the Minister for National Development Desmond Lee are the two assistant secretary-generals.
In the previous CEC lineup, Mr Chan was the second assistant secretary-general, with Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat as the first assistant secretary-general.
When he took over the role in 2018, he was seen as an indication that he was the frontrunner to be Singapore's next prime minister.
After he left the running last year, Mr Wong was appointed leader of the PAP's fourth-generation or 4 G team in April, paving the way for him to succeed Mr Lee Hsien Loong.
The deputy secretary-general will have the responsibilities of the PAP secretary-general Lee Hsien Loong in his absence, the party said in its release on Saturday.
Its 37th CEC has named Mr Heng as chairman, replacing the Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong, who announced at the party's conference earlier this month that he was stepping down.
Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli was re-elected as vice-chairman.
Four more members have also been co-opted into the PAP's CEC.
They are Manpower Minister Tan See Leng, National Trades Union Congress NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng, Member of Parliament for East Coast Cheryl Chan and Alex Yeo, who is a non-elected PAP representative in Aljunied GRC.
The full list of CEC members and their designations is as follows :