Lucien Wong has been reappointed as Singapore’s attorney-general for a fourth term, extending his tenure from 14 January 2026 to 13 January 2029. The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) made the announcement on 10 October 2025.
Wong has held the role since 2017 and was previously reappointed in 2020 and 2023. The latest extension means he will serve a total of 12 years in the position, a duration that has drawn attention due to its length and his age.
In the same announcement, Lionel Yee was also reappointed as deputy attorney-general for a three-year term from 14 January 2026 to 13 January 2029. Yee has served in the role since 2017 and was likewise reappointed in 2020 and 2023.
Under Article 35 of the Constitution, the attorney-general is appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister. The attorney-general serves as the government’s principal legal adviser and also holds the distinct role of public prosecutor, with the discretion to initiate, conduct, or discontinue any criminal proceedings.
Article 35(4) provides that the attorney-general may be appointed for a specified term. Unless removed earlier in accordance with constitutional provisions, the attorney-general shall vacate office either at the end of that term or, if no term is specified, upon reaching the age of 60.
Controversy since 2017 appointment
Wong’s appointment in 2017 was met with criticism. Despite a long and distinguished career in corporate law, he had never argued a case in court.
Critics argued that courtroom experience is essential for the role, which demands both prosecutorial expertise and the ability to command authority in legal proceedings.
Further scrutiny emerged due to Wong’s prior relationship with Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Wong previously served as SM Lee’s personal lawyer during a widely publicised family dispute over the late Lee Kuan Yew’s residence at 38 Oxley Road.
This connection led to allegations of a conflict of interest, given that the attorney-general must advise the government and prosecute on the state’s behalf.
Opposition figures and commentators raised concerns about the appearance of partiality.
In a New York Times interview, academic Li Shengwu, a relative of the Lee family, accused the government of using legal institutions to suppress dissent. He cited Wong’s appointment as evidence of compromised independence.
Age and succession planning raised as concerns
Wong will be 72 at the start of his upcoming term, far exceeding the typically recommended retirement age of 60 for the attorney-general role.
He became the oldest individual ever appointed to the office during his second reappointment in 2020, when he was 67 years old. This surpassed the previous record set by Chao Hick Tin, who was appointed attorney-general in 2006 at the age of 63.
Observers have questioned the rationale for retaining Wong despite the availability of other senior legal professionals with extensive courtroom experience. Singapore’s legal community includes many qualified candidates who could potentially assume the role.
Government’s response and public reaction
The government has consistently maintained that Lucien Wong’s appointment followed constitutional procedures.
In Parliament in 2017, then Senior Minister of State for Law Indranee Rajah stated that his appointment was made “after a thorough and rigorous process.”
She explained that “the Prime Minister consulted the Chief Justice and the Chairman of the Public Service Commission and the incumbent Attorney-General on the appointment.” The Council of Presidential Advisers unanimously advised the President to concur, and the President, “acting in his discretion,” supported the appointment.
Addressing concerns over impartiality, Indranee also confirmed that both the Attorney-General and Deputy Attorney-General would recuse themselves from any government matters they had previously been involved in during private practice. She stated:
“If your question is, for example, is Mr Lucien Wong advising the Ministerial Committee on 38 Oxley Road, the answer is no. For the very simple reason that in AGC, there are other officers… If you had acted on something, and you happen to change organisation or go somewhere else, and there is a conflict, you recuse yourself.”
Prior to her remarks, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong directly addressed questions about Wong’s prior role as his personal lawyer during the Oxley Road dispute. He stated:
“There is no problem of conflict at all. The way to deal with this is … for the lawyers to recuse themselves when matters come up which they had previously dealt with in a previous capacity … All professional lawyers know how to handle such matters.”
In a subsequent debate during the 2020 Committee of Supply, Member of Parliament Sylvia Lim revisited concerns about the Attorney-General’s appointment, referencing the public unease that followed Lucien Wong’s elevation to the role.
She proposed two structural reforms: first, to separate the Attorney-General’s dual roles — as the government’s legal adviser and as Public Prosecutor — into distinct offices; and second, to introduce a minimum fixed term for the Attorney-General.
Lim argued that short renewable contracts could undermine the independence and continuity of the office and noted that frequent changes in leadership could affect morale within the Attorney-General’s Chambers. She suggested the six-year term of the Auditor-General as a possible benchmark.
In response, then Senior Minister of State for Law Edwin Tong — now the Minister for Law — acknowledged that some jurisdictions, such as the UK and Australia, separate these roles because their Attorneys-General hold political office.
He defended Singapore’s current framework, highlighting constitutional safeguards, the Attorney-General’s apolitical status, and consistently high levels of public trust in AGC. Tong cited recent high-profile prosecutions under Lucien Wong’s leadership as evidence of independent decision-making.
However, he did not directly respond to Lim’s proposal for a minimum fixed term. Instead, he emphasised that it is constitutionally difficult to remove an Attorney-General mid-term and pointed to the system’s overall performance and public confidence as key indicators of its integrity.
Despite these assurances, public discourse has remained critical. The longevity of Wong’s tenure, his personal connections to political leadership, and his lack of courtroom background have collectively contributed to an ongoing perception issue.
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