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Singapore's long-serving Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is stepping down, marking the end of a political era for the island nation.
After 20 years in power, Mr Lee will formally hand over the reins to deputy PM and finance minister Lawrence Wong on Wednesday night.
Since becoming an independent nation in 1965, Singapore has only had three prime ministers - all from the ruling People's Action Party (PAP).
The first was Mr Lee's father, Lee Kuan Yew, who is widely considered as the founder of modern Singapore and led the country for 25 years.
Analysts say the transition signals an evolution in Singapore's political leadership as it moves out of the shadow of the Lee family, even though Mr Lee will remain in cabinet as a senior minister.
Over the weekend in his final interview as Prime Minister with local media, he thanked Singaporeans for their support.
"I didn’t try to run faster than everybody else. I tried to bring everybody to run with me," he said. "And I think we did have some success.”
He added that he had tried to "do (things) my way" in a different fashion from his father and other predecessor, Goh Chok Tong.
Mr Lee joined politics in 1984 as a backbencher while his father was still in power. He rose up the ranks under Singapore's second Prime Minister Mr Goh before taking the helm in 2004.
The first years of his political career were inevitably marked by intense scrutiny. Critics accused the family of nepotism and said they were creating a political dynasty, which the Lees repeatedly denied. In private, some Singaporeans joked about "fami-Lee politics" and the trinity of "father, son, and the holy Goh".
But over two decades as leader of Singapore, Mr Lee made his mark.
Mr Lee is now set to hand over to Mr Wong, a former economist and civil servant who at one point served as his principal private secretary.
It is uncharted waters not only for Mr Wong but also Singapore, which has had a Lee leader for 45 of its 59 years of nationhood. He will be the first PM without a Lee in waiting.
Lewis Musonye
