Lucien Wong continues as Attorney-General for a second term

LUCIEN Wong, who hinted in a recent speech of a second term as the Attorney-General, has had his tenure extended by another three years to 2023.

He had said at the opening of the legal year on Jan 6 that he and his senior leadership are committed fully to their continued stewardship of the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) for the immediate future, as they prepare for the next chapter in the AGC's history.

The AGC on Tuesday confirmed to The Business Times the 66-year-old's second term as the helmsman at the AGC from Jan 14 for three years.

Mr Wong said: "The past three years in the AGC have proven to be demanding, exciting and, most importantly, rewarding. I am deeply impressed by the quality of the AGC's officers and look forward to continue working with them in my second term as the Attorney-General."

In his Jan 6 speech, Mr Wong said he sees two major challenges facing the AGC in the new decade. One is increasing demands on legal officers arising from a mix of domestic and international factors. The second major challenge is to maintain public trust and confidence in the AGC as a fair and independent institution devoted to the rule of law.

The Attorney-General plays both the roles of legal adviser to the government, and the Public Prosecutor.

Even by completing his first term, Mr Wong is already the third-longest serving A-G since Singapore's independence. When he first assumed the position in 2017, he was the sixth A-G appointed in a span of 10 years. The late Tan Boon Teik, and Chan Sek Keong were the longest and second-longest serving predecessors of Mr Wong.