As education minister years later, Wong urged students not to obsess over their grades in an official video posted on YouTube. “It didn’t matter then and it doesn’t matter now,” said Wong, who also holds a master’s degree from Harvard University.
In Asia’s wealthiest nation, where the education system is among the world’s best, Singapore’s prime minister-in-waiting has appeared surprisingly unassuming.
Born to a roofing sales executive, Lawrence Wong – named a deputy prime minister in a cabinet reshuffle on Monday – chose to attend a public university in the US for undergraduate studies under a government scholarship. The 49-year-old didn’t immediately make it into the elite administrative service – known as a breeding ground for future leaders – though he was accepted later after working as a civil servant, according to people familiar with the matter.
