DPM Gan, Shanmugam and Vivian not easy to replace in Cabinet: PM Wong

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong noted that (from left) Gan Kim Yong, K. Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan will be aged 70 and older by the next term of government.

PHOTOS: GAVIN FOO, GAN KIM YONG

Published Sep 08, 2026, 05:40 PM

Updated Sep 08, 2026, 05:56 PM

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SINGAPORE – The challenge of finding the next generation of leaders in Singapore to helm key ministries is “very real”, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Sept 8 in Parliament.

He identified Gan Kim Yong, K. Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan as the three most senior members of his team aside from Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, noting the trio will be aged 70 and older by the next term of government.

“We should not plan on the basis that they will continue helming (their) ministries then,” PM Wong said.

Deputy Prime Minister Gan, who is Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade), is 67.

Senior Minister Shanmugam, 67, is also Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs.

Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs, is 65.

PM Wong added the Ministry of Finance, which he currently leads, should also have someone new at the helm.

“For the good of the team, and for the strength of our institutions, we need the next generation to take over,” he said in a speech addressing the Government’s response to the latest review of salaries for political appointment holders and MPs.

“All three (of them) understand this, and in fact they have been pressing me to put succession plans in place.”

PM Wong pointed to Gan’s experience across both the private and public sectors, adding that the DPM “commands the confidence of investors and international partners”.

Gan had started his career with the civil service, serving stints at the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

In 1989, he joined the private service in 1989 to work for NatSteel, where he rose through the ranks and in 2005 became the company’s chief executive and president . He has been the Minister for Trade and Industry since May 2021.

Speaking of Shanmugam , PM Wong cited his decades of experience in law and government, noting that he has “an unusual ability to get to the heart of complex issues, weigh competing considerations and frame the choices clearly”.

“Few ministers have that combination of judgement and experience at the same level,” said the Prime Minister.

Shanmugam was in 1998 appointed Senior Counsel of the Supreme Court of Singapore at the age of 38, becoming one of the youngest lawyers to be appointed to the role at the time.

Since being appointed to the Cabinet in 2008, he has served as the minister for law and foreign affairs, as well as for MHA, which he has been helming from 2015.

Finally, PM Wong said Balakrishnan has been Foreign Minister for more than a decade and has built up “deep knowledge of the issues and an extensive network of relationships”.

“That experience matters greatly, especially as our external environment becomes more complicated,” he said.

Balakrishnan, who joined politics in 2001, is an ophthalmologist by training and was previously the chief executive of Singapore General Hospital.

“It is very hard to find complete ready-made replacements for ministers at this level,” PM Wong said of Gan, Shanmugam and Balakrishnan.

“A senior person would have a shorter learning curve. But the judgment, experience, political authority and relationships needed for these roles take time to build.”

Hence, “good people” need to be brought into politics early enough, so they have the time to progressively assume heavier responsibilities, before taking over ministries.

“We are doing that now. But we also need depth in the pipeline, because not everyone we bring in will necessarily grow into these roles,” PM Wong said.

At MOF, he is facing the same need for someone to succeed him as Finance Minister, a role he has been able to take on as he is familiar with the ministry’s work after having worked many years there as a civil servant.

“ For now , I can continue to double-hat as PM and Minister for Finance,” he said.

“But ideally, I should have someone take on the Finance portfolio.”

“So when I look at MOF, MTI, MHA and MFA, the succession challenge is very real,” PM Wong added.

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黄循财总理指出，（从左至右）颜金勇、尚穆根和维文·巴拉克里希南到下一届政府任期结束时都将年满70岁。

照片：GAVIN FOO、GAN KIM YONG

发布于2026年9月8日下午5:40

更新于2026年9月8日下午5:56

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新加坡——新加坡总理黄循财9月8日在国会表示，寻找下一代领导人来掌管新加坡的关键部门是一项“非常现实”的挑战。

他指出，除了高级部长李显龙之外，颜金勇、尚穆根和维文·巴拉克里希南是他团队中最资深的三位成员，并指出到下一届政府任期结束时，这三人将年满 70 岁。

黄循财总理表示：“我们不应该基于他们会继续担任（各自）部门负责人这一前提来制定计划。”

副总理兼贸易及工业部长（贸易）颜金勇现现年67岁。

67岁的尚穆根高级部长同时也是国家安全统筹部长和内政部长。

外交部长巴拉克里希南现年65岁。

黄循财总理补充说，他目前领导的财政部也应该换个新领导人。

“为了团队的利益，为了我们机构的实力，我们需要下一代接班，”他在一次演讲中谈到政府对政治任命官员和议员薪酬最新审查的回应时说道。

“他们三个都明白这一点，事实上，他们一直在敦促我制定继任计划。”

黄总理指出颜金勇在私营和公共部门都拥有丰富的经验，并补充说，副总理“赢得了投资者和国际合作伙伴的信任”。

甘先生的职业生涯始于公务员系统，曾先后在贸易和工业部（MTI）和内政部（MHA）任职。

1989年，他加入私营企业，就职于NatSteel公司，并逐步晋升，于2005年成为该公司首席执行官兼总裁。自2021年5月起，他一直担任贸易和工业部长。

谈到尚穆根，黄英贤总理提到了他数十年的法律和政府经验，并指出他“具有非凡的能力，能够抓住复杂问题的核心，权衡相互冲突的因素，并清晰地阐明选择”。

总理说：“很少有部长能同时具备如此高水平的判断力和经验。”

1998 年，38 岁的尚穆根被任命为新加坡最高法院高级律师，成为当时担任该职位最年轻的律师之一。

自 2008 年被任命为内阁成员以来，他曾担任法律部长、外交部长以及内政部长，并自 2015 年起担任内政部长。

最后，黄英贤总理表示，巴拉克里希南担任外交部长已超过十年，积累了“对相关问题的深刻了解和广泛的人脉关系”。

“这种经验非常重要，尤其是在我们外部环境变得越来越复杂的情况下，”他说。

巴拉克里希南于 2001 年步入政坛，他是一名眼科医生，曾任新加坡中央医院首席执行官。

黄循财总理在谈到颜金勇、尚穆根和巴拉克里希南时说：“在这个级别上，很难找到完全合适的部长替代人选。”

“资深人士的学习曲线会更短。但担任这些角色所需的判断力、经验、政治权威和人脉关系都需要时间积累。”

因此，需要尽早让“好人”进入政坛，以便他们有时间逐步承担更重的责任，然后再接管部长职位。

黄总理表示：“我们现在正在这样做。但我们也需要储备人才，因为我们引进的人才并非都能胜任这些职位。”

在财政部，他也面临着寻找接替他担任财政部长的继任者的问题。由于他曾在财政部担任公务员多年，熟悉该部门的工作，因此能够胜任这一职位。

“目前，我可以继续兼任总理和财政部长两职，”他说。

“但理想情况下，我应该找个人来负责财务方面的工作。”

“所以，当我审视财政部、贸工部、内政部和外交部时，接班人挑战确实非常现实，”黄总理补充道。

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