At 40 years of age, Mr Desmond Lee will be the youngest full minister in the current Cabinet.
He will be Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office from May 1 and continue in the Home Affairs and National Development ministries as Second Minister.
His political journey, which began in 2011 when he entered politics as a backbencher in Jurong GRC, has seen him rise rapidly.
He was made Minister of State for National Development in 2013 and promoted to Senior Minister of State in 2015, with the additional portfolio of Home Affairs.
Before Mr Lee, the youngest to be made full minister among the fourth-generation leadership was Mr Lawrence Wong, who was 41 when he became Minister for Culture, Community and Youth.
When asked yesterday, Mr Lee – a lawyer by training and the son of former Cabinet minister Lee Yock Suan – said he was “humbled to be able to serve”.
He will focus on three main areas in his new roles – transforming the built environment sector, partnering the community to conserve Singapore’s national heritage and tackling security threats such as terrorism, cybercrime and drugs.
At 40 years of age, Mr Desmond Lee will be the youngest full minister in the current Cabinet.
He will be Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office from May 1 and continue in the Home Affairs and National Development ministries as Second Minister.
His political journey, which began in 2011 when he entered politics as a backbencher in Jurong GRC, has seen him rise rapidly.
He was made Minister of State for National Development in 2013 and promoted to Senior Minister of State in 2015, with the additional portfolio of Home Affairs.
Before Mr Lee, the youngest to be made full minister among the fourth-generation leadership was Mr Lawrence Wong, who was 41 when he became Minister for Culture, Community and Youth.
When asked yesterday, Mr Lee – a lawyer by training and the son of former Cabinet minister Lee Yock Suan – said he was “humbled to be able to serve”.
He will focus on three main areas in his new roles – transforming the built environment sector, partnering the community to conserve Singapore’s national heritage and tackling security threats such as terrorism, cybercrime and drugs.
This article by The Straits Times was published in The New Paper, a free newspaper published by Singapore Press Holdings.
