Lee Kuan Yew

Lee Kuan Yew (born Harry Lee Kuan Yew; 16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean statesman and lawyer who served as the first Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990, as well as Secretary-General of the People's Action Party from 1954 to 1992.

Lee was born at home on 16 September 1923, the first child of Lee Chin Koon, a Semarang-born Singaporean, and Chua Jim Neo, at 92 Kampong Java Road in Singapore, then part of the British Empire.

Both of Lee's parents were English-educated third-generation Straits Chinese, with his paternal side being of Hakka descent from Dabu County.

He was named 'Kuan Yew', meaning 'light and brightness', alternately meaning 'bringing great glory to one's ancestors'.

Lee's paternal grandfather Lee Hoon Leong, who was described as "especially westernised", had worked on British ships as a purser, and hence gave Lee the Western name 'Harry'.

While the family spoke English as its first language, Lee also learned Malay.

Lee would have three brothers and one sister, all of whom lived to old age.

Lee was not close to his father, who worked as a storekeeper within the Shell Oil Company and had a gambling addiction.

His mother Chua would often stand up against her husband for his poor financial management and parenting skills.

The family was considered prosperous with a high social standing compared to recent immigrants and had the means to hire servants.

During the Great Depression the family fortunes declined considerably, though Lee's father retained his job at Shell.

Later in life, Lee described his father as a man with a nasty temper and credited his mother with holding the family together amidst her husband's gambling addiction.

In 1930, Lee enrolled at Telok Kurau English School where he spent six years of his primary education.

Attending Raffles Institution in 1935, Lee did poorly in his first two years but later topped the Junior Cambridge examinations.

He also joined the Scouts and partook in several physical activities and debates.

Lee was the top scorer in the Senior Cambridge examinations in 1940 across the Straits Settlements and Malaya, gaining the John Anderson scholarship to attend Raffles College.

During the prize-awarding ceremony, Lee met his future wife Kwa Geok Choo; she was the only girl at the school.

After World War II ended, Lee briefly attended the London School of Economics before transferring to Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge to study law, graduating with a double first degree in 1947.

He was called to the Bar from the Middle Temple in 1950.

Upon his return to Singapore, he practised as an advocate and solicitor whilst campaigning for the British to relinquish their colonial rule.

Lee co-founded the People's Action Party (PAP) in 1954 and won his first seat at the Tanjong Pagar division during the 1955 general election.

He became the de facto opposition leader in parliament, to Chief Ministers David Marshall and Lim Yew Hock of the Labour Front.

He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tanjong Pagar from 1955 until his death in 2015.

Lee is widely recognised as the founding father of the modern Singaporean state, and for his leadership in turning it into a highly developed country under his tenure.

Lee was born in Singapore during British colonial rule.

After graduating from Raffles Institution, he won a scholarship to Raffles College (now the National University of Singapore).

During the Japanese occupation, Lee escaped being the victim of a purge, before subsequently starting his own businesses while working as an administration service officer for the Japanese propaganda office.

Lee led his party to its first electoral victory in 1959 and was appointed as the state's first prime minister.

To attain complete home rule from Britain, Lee campaigned for a merger with other former British territories in a national referendum to form Malaysia in 1963.

Racial strife and ideological differences later led to Singapore's expulsion from Malaysia and subsequent independence in 1965, less than two years after the merger.

With overwhelming parliamentary control at every general election, Lee oversaw Singapore's transformation into a developed country with a high-income economy within his premiership.

In the process, he forged a highly effective, anti-corrupt government and civil service.

Lee eschewed populist policies in favour of long-term social and economic planning, championing civic nationalism through meritocracy and multiracialism as governing principles, making English the lingua franca to integrate its immigrant society and to facilitate trade with the world, whilst mandating bilingualism in schools to preserve the students' mother tongue and ethnic identity.

Lee stepped down as prime minister in 1990, but remained in the Cabinet under his successors, holding the appointments of Senior Minister until 2004, then Minister Mentor until 2011.

He died of pneumonia on 23 March 2015, at the age of 91.

In a week of national mourning, about 1.7 million residents and world leaders paid tribute to him at his lying-in-state at Parliament House and community tribute sites.

An advocate for Asian values and a proponent of Realpolitik pragmatism, Lee's premiership in the West was described as running a nanny state.

His critics accused him of curtailing press freedoms, imposing narrow limits on public protests, restricting labour movements from industrial or strike action through anti-union legislation and co-option, and bringing defamation lawsuits against prominent political opponents.

Lee had directly responded to such critiques by stating that "If Singapore is a nanny state, then I am proud to have fostered one".

In addition, others have also argued that his actions were necessary and vital for the country's early development, and that while his rule could be deemed as somewhat heavy-handed, he was a benevolent dictator who looked after his citizens well-being, where he continues to be held in high regard.