BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhuanet) -- LEE HSIEN LOON, the son of Singapore¡¯s founding father Lee Kuan Yew, has been officially ratified as the city-state¡¯s next prime minister, the ruling People¡¯s Action Party (PAP) said Monday.

    According to Tuesday's Shenzhen Daily, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, 63, who took over from the elder Lee in 1990, will announce the handover date in July, Home Affairs Minister and PAP second assistant secretary general Wong Kan Seng said in a statement Monday.

    Wong said the PAP¡¯s central executive committee endorsed Lee¡¯s succession during a meeting Saturday, after government ministers unanimously endorsed the change May 22 and government MPs voiced similar approval May 28.

    ¡°Prime Minister Goh had earlier told the ministers that now was a good time for the handover, given that the economy has recovered and is growing strongly,¡± Wong said.

    Goh had previously told the media he would step down in 2004 in favor of the younger Lee, 52, currently finance minister and one of two deputy prime ministers, once the economy had fully recovered from last year¡¯s downturn. 

    (Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)