Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced a Cabinet Reshuffle on July 25, with lots of movement.

Among those slated for a change in responsibilities is Lawrence Wong. He gives up his role as Minister for National Development and has been given a new appointment as Minister for Education.

Although this wasn't exactly a promotion, as Wong was a full Cabinet Minister already, it does represent something of a step up.

Education one of the biggest Ministries by budget

Education is one of the biggest Ministries in the Cabinet, going by budget alone.

In the Unity Budget introduced by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat in Feb. 2020 (the first one before all the Covid-related supplementary budgets), Education was the ministry given the third biggest slice of the pie with S$13.3 billion.

This was just behind Health at S$13.4 billion, and Defence at S$15.1 billion. Meanwhile, National Development clocked in with S$4.5 billion.

Former Education Ministers have gone on to be appointed Deputy Prime Ministers

And some rather big names have previously served as the Education Minister.

Illustrious politicians include Goh Keng Swee, Tony Tan (who became President), Teo Chee Hean and Tharman Shanmugaratnam (both former DPMs, now Senior Ministers) and Heng Swee Keat (current DPM, tipped to take over from PM Lee).

Wong has also seen a rise in his prominence over the past few months.

Lawrence Wong as co-chair of MTF and spokesperson for PAP

He was assigned to co-chair the Multi-Ministry Task Force handling the Covid-19 outbreak, and alongside Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, he has been a regular feature in press conferences updating the public about measures taken to contain the virus.

Wong will remain in this capacity as the co-chair even with his change in portfolio, according to PM Lee during the reshuffle announcement earlier today.

Before the general election, he also delivered a national broadcast on the Covid-19 situation along with PM Lee, Senior Ministers Tharman and Teo, Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing, and DPM Heng.

Aside from government work, Wong has also been tasked with political announcements on behalf of the PAP.

During the recent general election campaign, Wong spoke out against false claims made by Paul Tambyah of the Singapore Democratic Party.

And on July 18, following the election, Wong delivered the PAP's assessment of their performance during GE2020.

He addressed tricky topics like the loss of Sengkang GRC to the Workers' Party, the youth vote, and the need to build a social compact with the voters.

One of the younger 4G leaders with the breadth of experience

At 47, Wong is one of the younger 4G leaders.

During the press conference, PM Lee spoke about how he was "rotating the Ministers, especially the younger ones, to gain exposure and experience".

Among the 4G leaders, Wong is tied with Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing in terms of having the widest breadth of experience (third time helming a portfolio).

This is Wong's third Ministry, after Ministry for National Development and Ministry for Culture, Community and Youth. Chan was previously Minister for Social and Family Development and Labour Chief.

There may be bigger things in store for Wong.

Top image from MCI and MOE Facebook.