Lawrence Wong

Spear’s Review

‘Our leadership style will differ from that of previous generations,’ Lawrence Wong, Singapore’s prime minister, said upon his swearing-in in May 2024. ‘We will lead in our own way. We will continue to think boldly and to think far. We know that there is still much more to do.’

Wong’s in-tray on taking office was a busy one — including dealing with mounting cost-of-living challenges and a domestic corruption scandal, which saw a former cabinet minister in the People’s Action Party pleading guilty to receiving gifts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars while in office. 

On the international front, Wong will have to navigate increasing geopolitical tensions between the US and China while trying to keep the nation competitive for private wealth investment and HNWs. The world will watch to see how the Harvard-educated prime minister, who continues to serve as the minister for finance after taking on that role in 2021, fares.