Date decided for new Singapore PM

Mr Lee is expected to bring a new style of leadership

Singapore's Prime Minister says he will formally hand over power to his deputy - and son of the country's founding father - within the month.

Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong announced Lee Hsien Loong would be sworn in as his successor on 12 August.

Mr Lee is the son of Lee Kuan Yew, 80, who ruled Singapore for 31 years, and has long been groomed for the post.

Mr Goh was initially seen as a seat warmer when he took on the job in 1990 but proved to be a popular leader.

Analysts say the younger Lee's elevation to the top job ushers in a new generation of leaders.

He has previously spoken of the need for Singapore to shake-off its reputation as an over-protective nanny state.

'Unanimous support'

The 52-year-old eldest child of Singapore's first prime minister secured a first in mathematics at Cambridge University.

He then joined the military, quickly rising through the ranks to become brigadier-general.

Initially thought to be a seat warmer, Goh proved his sceptics wrong

His military career ended at the age of 32, when he followed his father into politics as a member of the ruling People's Action Party.

He was appointed deputy prime minister in 1990, at the age of just 38.

The prime minister's office said in a statement Mr Goh would formally advise the president to appoint Mr Lee to succeed him.

Mr Lee "has the unanimous support" of the party's members of parliament, said the statement.

He will be sworn in at the Istana state complex on 12 August, it added.