Lee Kuan Yew

Lee married Kwa Geok Choo in 1950, and has three children–Hsien Loong, (the current PM), Dr. Wei Ling (heads the National Neuroscience Institute), and Hsien Yang (presides over the telecommunication giant, SingTel).

Lee Kuan Yew died of pneumonia on 23 March 2015, at the age of 91.

He authored many books in his lifetime. These include: ‘The Singapore Story’, ‘From Third World to First: The Singapore Story’, ‘The Wit and Wisdom of Lee Kuan Yew’, and ‘One Man's View of the World’.

Lee Kuan Yew was born on 16 September 1923, to Lee Chin Koon and Chua Jim Neo. He has three brothers: Dennis Lee, Freddy Lee and Lee Suan Yew, and one sister, Monica Lee. The family was prosperous, and his father received an English education.

He studied at the prestigious Raffles Institution, and stood first in Singapore and Malaysia in the Senior Cambridge exams. Awarded an Anderson Scholarship to Raffles College, he studied there between 1940 and 1942.

When World War II ended, he went to study in England. He graduated with a rare Double Starred Law Degree from Fitzwilliam College, affiliated to the University of Cambridge.

Lee Kuan Yew returned to Singapore in 1949. He gained invaluable experience in politics as the election agent to the pro-British Progressive Party leader, John Laycock in whose law firm he was employed.

Along with some English-educated middle class men, he founded the People's Action Party (PAP) as a facade for the illegal Malayan Communist Party, and was supported by pro-communist trade unions.

In the 1955 elections, he secured the Tanjong Pagar seat and became the Opposition leader. He represented the PAP in two discussions over the future constitutional status of Singapore, in London.

PAP swept the 1959 elections, gaining an absolute majority by winning 43 of the 51 Legislative Assembly seats. Singapore achieved self -government status, and Lee was sworn in as its first Prime Minister.

He inherited numerous problems in the various sectors. In 1960, he established the Housing and Development Board (HDB). The board undertook steps to provide affordable homes on war-footing.

In 1961, the Economic Development Board was established. It succeeded in industrializing Singapore by drawing foreign investment through tax incentive, providing highly skilled and cheap manpower, and modern transport systems and communication network.

Between 1965 and 1985, Singapore’s economy developed eightfold and its per capita income improved fourfold. The percentage of families living in poverty reduced to 0.3%. Homelessness and unemployment were completely stamped out.