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Lee Kuan-yew's son to be next premier

Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said yesterday the son of the city-state's founding father Lee Kuan-yew will succeed him as premier when he steps down.

The appointment of the son, Lee Hsien Loong, as leader has been widely expected. The long-time civil servant, who is currently deputy prime minister, is considered by many to embody a more-conservative faction of the ruling People's Action Party.

"I'd like to give my successor at least two years before he fights the next general elections," Goh said during his National Day Rally speech. The next general elections are expected in 2007.

Goh said he would not step down until he brings Singapore out of its current economic slump.

"You have always supported me in overcoming challenges. I need your further support as I prepare a successor team to lead Singapore," Goh said.

Goh, 62, took the country's reins from Lee Kuan-yew in 1990 and has presided over the country during a decade in which it enjoyed both double digit economic growth and suffered crippling recessions.

The ascendant prime minister Lee Hsien Loong was born in 1952. He holds degrees from Cambridge University in the UK and Harvard University in the US.
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