Lee Hsien Loong

Lee Hsien Loong (born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician and former brigadier-general who has been serving as the third Prime Minister of Singapore and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party since 2004.

The eldest child of Lee Kuan Yew and Kwa Geok Choo and the patriline grandson of a retired storekeeper-turned-salesman, Lee Chin Koon (1903–1995) and Chua Jim Neo (1905–1980), a chef, Lee Hsien Loong was born at KK Women's and Children's Hospital in Singapore on 10 February 1952, when Singapore was a British colony.

His mother has ancestry from Tong'an District and Longhu while his father has ancestry from Dabu County in China.

He served in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) between 1971 and 1984, and attained the rank Brigadier-General, completing a Master of Public Administration degree at Harvard Kennedy School in 1980.

Lee was educated at Nanyang Primary School and Catholic High School—where he played clarinet in the school band, and National Junior College before he was awarded the President's Scholarship and Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship in 1971 by the Public Service Commission (PSC) to study mathematics at Trinity College, University of Cambridge.

Lee joined the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in 1971, and served as a commissioned officer between 1974 and 1984, and held various staff and command posts, including Director of the Joint Operations and Plans Directorate, and Chief of Staff of the General Staff.

He was Senior Wrangler in 1973, and graduated in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts with first class honours degree (later promoted to Master of Arts by seniority) in mathematics and a diploma in computer science (now equivalent to a master's degree in computer science) with distinction.

His college tutor, Denis Marrian, later described Lee as "the brightest mathematician he had admitted to the college".

Béla Bollobás said that Lee "would have been a world-class research mathematician", but his father did not realise this and persuaded Lee to leave the field.

He graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics with first class honours and a Diploma in Computer Science with distinction (equivalent to a first-class masters in computer science).

He also attended the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth in 1978.

He subsequently went on to complete a Master of Public Administration degree at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1980.

During the 1980s, Lee was regarded as the core member of the next batch of new leaders in the People's Action Party (PAP) leadership transition that was taking place in the mid-1980s, as Lee Kuan Yew had declared that he would step down as prime minister in 1984.

Lee Rose quickly through the ranks in the Singapore Army, becoming the youngest brigadier-general in Singapore's history after his promotion in July 1983.

Notably, he was put in command of the rescue operations following the Sentosa cable car disaster.

Lee resigned from the SAF in 1984 to enter politics and was elected the MP for Teck Ghee SMC.

Lee served as commanding officer of the 23rd Battalion Singapore Artillery in the Singapore Army before he left the SAF in 1984 for politics.

Lee was first elected Member of Parliament for the Teck Ghee SMC in 1984, at the age of 32.

He was subsequently appointed Minister of State for Trade and Industry, and Minister of State for Defence.

Following the 1984 general election, all of the old Central Executive Committee members except Lee Kuan Yew resigned on 1 January 1985.

In 1985, Lee chaired the government's economic committee, which recommended changes to established government policies to reduce business costs, foster longer-term growth and revive the Singapore economy, which was experiencing a recession at the time.

The committee's recommendations included reductions in corporate and personal taxes and the introduction of a consumption tax.

In 1986, Lee was appointed Acting Minister for Trade and Industry.

In March 1986, First Deputy Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong discussed the question with Lee on encouraging younger Singaporeans to join the party.

Goh was firm that the proposed committee should attract only the right kinds of members, ruling out material rewards as an incentive.

The proposed youth wing was to encourage the improvement of the system from within, which would give new members a stake in the country's future.

In 1987, he became a full member of the Cabinet as Minister for Trade and Industry and Second Minister for Defence.

He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Teck Ghee division of Ang Mo Kio GRC since 1991, and previously Teck Ghee SMC between 1984 and 1991.

Born in Singapore during British colonial rule, Lee is the eldest son of Singapore's first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew.

Since its dissolution in 1991, he has represented the Teck Ghee ward of Ang Mo Kio GRC.

Lee has served as deputy prime minister, Minister for Finance, Minister for Trade and Industry, and Second Minister for Defence under Prime Ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong before assuming the office of prime minister in 2004.

In his first two years, his government enacted a five-day work week and extended maternity leave days.

His proposal to build two Integrated Resorts in Singapore to increase tourism revenue led to the development of the Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa.

Following the Great Recession, he oversaw the country's economic recovery within two years.

Further political reforms in 2010 saw increased online activism as well as the number of Non-Constituency Members of Parliament (NCMPs) in Parliament.

Since the 2020s, he oversaw the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent recession and recovery.

In 2022, he responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by being the only Southeast Asian country to impose sanctions on Russia.

That same year, his government repealed the then already unenforced colonial-era Section 377A, de jure and de facto legalising same-sex sexual activity between men.

Lee is frequently noted by the international media as the world's highest paid state leader.

His libel suits against journalists and political opponents have been frequently covered by international news outlets.