Kuan Yew Lee

Lee Kuan Yew (born Harry Lee Kuan Yew; 16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), also known as LKY, was a Singaporean politician, barrister and statesman who served as the first prime minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. A member of the People's Action Party (PAP), his authoritarian governance oversaw the transformation of post-independence Singapore into a highly developed country and one of the four Asian Tigers. He is regarded as the founding father of modern Singapore.

Born in Singapore during British colonial rule to a family of Peranakan Chinese descent, Lee studied law in England at Cambridge University and was called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1950. Shortly after, he returned to Singapore and practised law, founding the law firm Lee & Lee. In 1954, Lee co-founded the PAP, which won significant support among the working class and trade unions in the lead up to the 1955 general election, securing him a seat in the Tanjong Pagar division and making him the de facto leader of the opposition. In 1959, Lee led the PAP to its first electoral victory, becoming Singapore's first prime minister. Seeking sovereignty from the British Empire, Lee led Singapore to a merger with Malaya along with Sarawak and Sabah, forming Malaysia in 1963. Racial strife and ideological differences later led to Singapore's expulsion from Malaysia and consequent independence in 1965.

Lee oversaw major economic reforms and urban development, instituting policies promoting meritocracy, multiracialism and anti-corruption. His administration, generally characterised as an illiberal democracy with nanny state tendencies, restricted press freedoms, public assembly, labour activism and civil liberties. From 1968 to 1981, Singapore was a de facto one-party state, with the PAP facing no opposition in Parliament. Although Lee maintained legal and institutional procedures that formally characterised Singapore as a democratic parliamentary republic, he employed defamation laws, detention without trial and social engineering to ensure continued electoral success.