Singapore was once known as an affluent and strait-laced city-state. Today, it’s a glitzy international destination. It has hosted Taylor Swift concerts and Formula One night races. And it is substantially richer, per capita, than the United States.
That transformation happened under Lee Hsien Loong, the Southeast Asian country’s third prime minister. He made Singapore even more prosperous by largely following the semi-authoritarian and free-market model pioneered by his father, Lee Kuan Yew, the country’s first leader.
On Wednesday, Singapore got a new leader for the first time in nearly 20 years. Lee Hsien Loong, 72, handed the office to his deputy, Lawrence Wong, 51. Their People’s Action Party (PAP) has governed Singapore continuously for more than six decades and has had astounding successes.