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Lee Kuan Yew

In this Chinese name, the family name is Lee (李).

The Honourable
Lee Kuan Yew
GCMG CH SPMJ DK
李光耀
Lee in 1975
1st Prime Minister of Singapore
In office
5 June 1959 – 28 November 1990
Monarchs
President
Deputy
Preceded byOffice established
Lim Yew Hock (as Chief Minister)
Succeeded byGoh Chok Tong
Member of Parliament
for Tanjong Pagar
In office
22 April 1955 – 23 March 2015
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byIndranee Rajah (PAP)
Constituency
Secretary-General of the People's Action Party
In office
21 November 1954 – 14 November 1992
Chairman
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byGoh Chok Tong
Ministerial offices
Minister Mentor of Singapore
In office
12 August 2004 – 20 May 2011
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Senior Minister of Singapore
In office
28 November 1990 – 11 August 2004
Prime MinisterGoh Chok Tong
Preceded byS. Rajaratnam
Succeeded byGoh Chok Tong
Parliamentary offices
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Singapore
In office
2 November 1963 – 9 August 1965[1]
Leader of the Opposition
In office
22 April 1955 – 31 March 1959
Chief MinisterDavid Marshall
Lim Yew Hock
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byLim Yew Hock
Personal details
Born
Harry Lee Kuan Yew

(1923-09-16)16 September 1923
Singapore, Straits Settlements
Died23 March 2015(2015-03-23) (aged 91)
Singapore
Cause of deathPneumonia
Resting placeMandai Crematorium and Columbarium
Political partyPeople's Action Party
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1950; died 2010)​
Children
Parents
RelativesLee family
Education
Signature
Chinese name
Chinese李光耀
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLǐ Guāngyào
Bopomofoㄌㄧˇ ㄍㄨㄤ ㄧㄠˋ
Wade–GilesLi3 Kuang1-yao4
Tongyong PinyinLǐ Guang-yào
Yale RomanizationLǐ Gwāngyàu
IPA[lì kwáŋ.jâʊ]
Hakka
RomanizationLí Kông-yeu
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationLeíh Gwōngjiuh
Jyutpinglei5 gwong1 jiu6
IPA[lej˩˧ kʷɔŋ˥ jiw˨]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJLí Kong-iāu

Lee Kuan Yew GCMG CH SPMJ DK (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. He served as the secretary-general of the People's Action Party (PAP) from 1954 to 1992 and 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 transforming it into a highly developed country during 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,[2] before subsequently starting his own businesses while working as an administration service officer for the Japanese propaganda office. 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. Lee led his party to its first electoral victory in 1959 and was appointed 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[3] and multiracialism[4][5] as governing principles, making English the lingua franca[6] 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.[6] 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,[7] Lee's premiership was described as authoritarian[8][9][10] by the Western world or as a sort of guided democracy by scholars and the media.[11][12] He was criticised for curtailing press freedoms, imposing narrow limits on public protests, restricting labour movements from industrial or strike action through anti-union legislation and co-option,[13] and bringing defamation lawsuits against prominent political opponents.[14][15] Lee directly responded to such critiques by stating that "If Singapore is a nanny state, then I am proud to have fostered one".[16] In addition, others have also argued that his actions were necessary and vital for the country's early development. Lee has been often described a benevolent dictator who fostered social wellbeing within an illiberal democratic framework.[17][18] Lee continues to be held in high regard by Singaporeans.[19][20]

  1. ^ "PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES DEWAN RA'AYAT (HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES) OFFICIAL REPORT" (PDF). Dewan Rakyat. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  2. ^ Chew, Cassandra (29 June 2014). "The Rickshaw puller who saved Lee Kuan Yew". The Straits Times. Singapore. Archived from the original on 18 February 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Meritocracy & Governance | Lee Kuan Yew: In His Own Words", Channel NewsAsia, 24 March 2015, archived from the original on 14 April 2021, retrieved 8 April 2021 – via YouTube
  4. ^ Lee Hsien Loong (30 September 2017). "Race, multiracialism and Singapore's place in the world". The Straits Times. Singapore. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  5. ^ Ng, Kelly (8 August 2017). "The policies that shaped a multiracial nation". Today. Singapore. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  6. ^ a b Lee Kuan Yew (27 March 2015). "In his own words: English for trade; mother tongue to preserve identity". The Straits Times. Singapore. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  7. ^ Tan, Carlton (23 March 2015). "Lee Kuan Yew leaves a legacy of authoritarian pragmatism". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  8. ^ Sleeper, Jim (2 April 2015). "Lee Kuan Yew's hard truths". openDemocracy. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  9. ^ Case, William (August 2005). "Southeast Asia's Hybrid Regimes: When Do Voters Change Them?". Journal of East Asian Studies. 5 (2): 215–237. doi:10.1017/S1598240800005750. ISSN 1598-2408. S2CID 150731305. Archived from the original on 5 March 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  10. ^ Hyman, Gerald (30 March 2015). "Lee Kuan Yew's Enigma: Authoritarian Yet a Kind of Democrat". Washington DC: Center for Strategic & International Studies. Archived from the original on 3 April 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  11. ^ Piper, Hal (12 August 1995). "Guided Democracy". Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Singapore's guide". The Irish Times. Dublin. 29 March 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  13. ^ "Modernization of the Labour Movement". MS50 Reunion – An Exhibition by NTUC. Archived from the original on 1 November 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  14. ^ "When the gloves came off". Today. Singapore. 23 March 2015. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  15. ^ Winn, Patrick (30 July 2016). "Lee Kuan Yew is dead. Here are 7 of his most provocative quotes". The World from PRX. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  16. ^ Ho, Terence (21 February 2023). "Does Budget 2023 suggest that Singapore remains a 'nanny state'?". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 24 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  17. ^ Mutalib, Hussin. "Illiberal Democracy and the Future of Opposition in Singapore." Third World Quarterly 21, no. 2 (2000): 313–42. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3993422.
  18. ^ Christie, Kenneth. "Illiberal Democracy, Modernisation and Southeast Asia." Theoria: A Journal of Social and Political Theory, no. 91 (1998): 102–18. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41802094.
  19. ^ Boo, Su-Lyn (23 March 2015). "Obituary: Lee Kuan Yew, the benevolent dictator". Malay Mail. Kuala Lumpur. Archived from the original on 23 April 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  20. ^ Grachangnetara, Songkran (25 March 2015). "Asia's last 'benevolent dictator' was a giant of a man". Bangkok Post. Archived from the original on 23 April 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.

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