On 21 May, 2025, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced his first full Cabinet following the general election held on 3 May. The ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) secured 65.57 per cent of the vote, and the new Cabinet marks the first full team under Wong since he took office in 2024.
The reshuffle includes 40 political office-holders, up from 37 in the previous term.
It features 15 full ministers, two acting ministers, and changes across all 16 ministries and the Prime Minister’s Office. Nine of the appointments are newly elected Members of Parliament or backbenchers.
A key structural feature of the new Cabinet is a core leadership group of four senior leaders: Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, and Coordinating Ministers K. Shanmugam, Chan Chun Sing, and Ong Ye Kung.
Gan remains the only Deputy Prime Minister, a departure from recent past practice where previous prime ministers appointed two deputies. He also continues to head the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Chan, who relinquishes the education portfolio, takes on the defence portfolio and is appointed Coordinating Minister for Public Services. The newly created role focuses on enhancing integration and delivery of public services across government agencies.
Ong retains his position as Minister for Health and becomes Coordinating Minister for Social Policies. He will continue to oversee initiatives such as Healthier SG and Age Well SG, while also assuming responsibility for the Forward Singapore social policy agenda.
Shanmugam remains Minister for Home Affairs and becomes Coordinating Minister for National Security, taking over the coordinating role previously held by Teo Chee Hean. He steps down as Minister for Law, a role that will now be filled by Edwin Tong, who also becomes Second Minister for Home Affairs.
The two acting ministers are both first-term MPs. David Neo, former Chief of Army, becomes Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Senior Minister of State for Education. Jeffrey Siow, a former senior civil servant, becomes Acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance.
Other key changes include:
- Desmond Lee moves to the Ministry of Education from National Development.
- Chee Hong Tat takes over as Minister for National Development and steps down as Second Minister for Finance.
- Faishal Ibrahim is promoted and becomes Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs.
- Josephine Teo, Tan See Leng, Grace Fu, Masagos Zulkifli, Vivian Balakrishnan, and Indranee Rajah retain their existing portfolios.
Tan also takes on a new role as Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science and Technology within MTI.
Among the promoted office-holders:
- Murali Pillai, Sun Xueling, and Faishal Ibrahim become Senior Ministers of State.
- Baey Yam Keng becomes Minister of State and also assumes the role of Mayor for the North East District.
New political office-holders include:
- Dinesh Vasu Dash, appointed Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth and for Manpower, and Mayor of South East District.
- Jasmin Lau, appointed Minister of State for Digital Development and Education.
- Goh Pei Ming, appointed Minister of State for Home Affairs and Social and Family Development.
- Goh Hanyan and Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi, appointed Senior Parliamentary Secretaries. Dr Syed will assume his roles from 1 October, 2025.
Backbenchers Desmond Choo and Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim will also take on office-holder roles. Choo becomes Minister of State for Defence. Zhulkarnain will be Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Social and Family Development from 1 February, 2026.
Additional shifts among senior roles include:
- Sim Ann becomes Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and continues in Foreign Affairs.
- Janil Puthucheary takes up a dual portfolio in Education and Sustainability.
- Tan Kiat How and Koh Poh Koon continue as Senior Ministers of State for their current ministries.
- Shawn Huang is appointed Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower, continuing at the Ministry of Finance.
- Zaqy Mohamad retains his roles in Sustainability and Defence.
- Alvin Tan becomes Minister of State for National Development and Trade and Industry.
- Eric Chua becomes Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Law.
The reshuffle affects all ministries. Wong said the broader team size reflects a period of transition, with newer leaders being prepared for larger responsibilities over time.
Six senior office-holders are retiring from Cabinet and politics: Heng Swee Keat, Teo Chee Hean, Ng Eng Hen, Maliki Osman, Heng Chee How, and Amy Khor. Wong acknowledged their service, including contributions to mayorships, NTUC, and multiple ministries.
Ng Chee Meng, re-elected MP for Jalan Kayu and current Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress, has declined a Cabinet role to focus on union work. Wong said this is a temporary arrangement and expects to bring the labour chief into Cabinet in future.
The new Cabinet will take effect from 23 May, 2025, unless otherwise stated. Wong said further adjustments may be made within the next one to two years, depending on the readiness of newer office-holders.
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