Singapore has had three Prime Ministers since our independence in 1965.

If media reports published by Lianhe Zaobao and the Straits Times on Thursday (Nov. 22) are anything to go by, there will be more clarity to PM Lee Hsien Loong's successor as soon as tomorrow (Nov. 23).

Zaobao went further to report that Heng Swee Keat is likely to be picked as first assistant secretary-general of the People's Action Party (PAP).

Zaobao wrote that, traditionally, an assistant secretary-general takes on the role of a Deputy Prime Minister or the next generation PM or DPM.

Given that this is now a crucial time for political succession in Singapore, we look at the past two leadership transitions.

Goh Chok Tong's transition to PM

Goh Chok Tong entered politics in 1976, as a Member of Parliament for Marine Parade, at the age of 35.

The portfolios he held

Over the next eight years, Goh built up a track record of achievements in politics and government.

This included organising and leading the PAP to victory in one general election and one by-election, delivering three Budgets, and pushing through tricky policies like MediSave.

Prior to becoming PM, he held the following portfolios:

• Second Assistant Secretary-General of the PAP
• Senior Minister of State for Finance (1977 to 1979)
• Minister for Trade and Industry (1979 to 1981)
• Minister for Health (1981 to 1982)
• Minister for Defence (1982 to 1991)
• Deputy Prime Minister (1985 to 1990)

DPM would likely be next PM

According to accounts in Goh Chok Tong's biography, Tall Order, the decision to make Goh DPM was settled upon by the young Cabinet ministers of 1984.

Tony Tan, who was Minister for Trade & Industry and Minister for Finance at that time, invited 11 of his fellow young cabinet ministers to his house to discuss the matter.

The ministers present in that meeting understood that the supporting someone for the position of DPM meant that they were implicitly also supporting him to be the next PM of Singapore.

Consensus about second-gen leaders

In 1984, Lee had just entered politics, and there was talk of him being a potential candidate for succession.

At that time, then-PM Lee Kuan Yew favoured Tony Tan to be PM.

But according to the book, there was no hot contest -- Goh was an obvious choice for the second-generation leadership.

In their decision-making process, they felt that a minister who came in earlier should be one of the leaders.

They settled on Goh as he was one of the more experienced members at that time. More importantly, he had also taken charge of crucial economics and security portfolios.

Tan was quoted, saying that "the decision did not take long". Then-Law Minister S Jayakumar, who was present at the meeting, also said:

"We had no problem arriving at a unanimous decision that Chok Tong should be 1DPM."

In 1990, after five years of serving as DPM, Goh eventually succeeded Lee Kuan Yew as the second Prime Minister of Singapore.

LHL's transition to PM

Lee Hsien Loong had a career in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) before he left in 1984 to enter politics as a Member of Parliament for Teck Ghee Single Member Constituency.

Portfolio

He also held these portfolios over the next 20 years:

• Minister of State in the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Defence (1984 to 1987)
• Minister for Trade and Industry (1987 to 1992)
• First Assistant Secretary-General of the PAP (1992 to 2004)
• Second Minister for Defence (1987 to 1990)
• Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (1998 to 2004)
• Minister for Finance (2001 to 2007)
• Deputy Prime Minister (1990 to 2004)

Lee was not Goh's initial choice for DPM

Lee Hsien Loong and Ong Teng Cheong both served as Goh's Deputy Prime Ministers.

But in Goh's book Tall Order, he revealed that he had only initially decided one DPM -- Ong Teng Cheong.

Goh felt that Ong was an "able, reliable and trustworthy" politician necessary to help him rally the ground, especially with the Chinese.

However, he also acknowledged that Lee was the one in his team who had the potential to take over. This nudged Goh to the conclusion that he should have two DPMs.

Lee served as DPM for 14 years, and the party eventually backed him as the candidate to succeed Goh.

He became PM in 2004.

Top photo composite image from NAS.

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