Singapore announces Cabinet reshuffle

SINGAPORE, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced a Cabinet reshuffle Saturday, appointing new ministers for law, education and manpower, and promoting some junior ministers.

S. Jayakumar will relinquish his post as Law Minister from May 1, a position he has held for 20 years.

K. Shanmugam, Senior Counsel and Member of Parliament (MP) for Sembawang group representation constituency (GRC), will take over as Law Minister, and also concurrently be Second Minister for Home Affairs.

Jayakumar will continue as Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security.

Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen will be Minister for Education from April 1, taking over from Tharman Shanmugaratnam who assumed the post of Finance Minister last December.

Current Minister of State for Manpower Gan Kim Yong will be Acting Manpower Minister. He will also be promoted to Senior Minister of State.

Vivian Balakrishnan will give up his post as Second Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts, but will continue as Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports.

Four Ministers of State have been promoted.

Lim Hwee Hua will be promoted to Senior Minister of State, keeping her appointments in the Finance and Transport Ministries.

S. Iswaran will be Senior Minister of State, continuing in the Trade and Industry Ministry.

Grace Fu also moves up to Senior Minister of State, receiving anew appointment in the Education Ministry, while serving her present appointment in the National Development Ministry.

Lui Tuck Yew will also be promoted to Senior Minister of State. He will be newly appointed to the Information, Communications and The Arts Ministry (MICA), while continuing with his present appointment in the Education Ministry.

Lee had said late last year that he would reshuffle the cabinet after the Budget Debate which ended three weeks ago.

The last Cabinet reshuffle was in May 2006, after Lee won his first general elections as prime minister.