Lee Kwan Yew

Lee Kuan Yew CH GCMG SPMJ
李光耀
Lee Kuan Yew in 2002
1st Prime Minister of Singapore
In office 3 June 1959 – 28 November 1990
President	Yusof Ishak (2nd Yang di-Pertuan Negara) (1st Yang di-Pertua Negeri) Benjamin Sheares Devan Nair Wee Kim Wee
Governor	Sir William Goode (1st Yang di-Pertuan Negara)
Deputy	Toh Chin Chye Goh Keng Swee S Rajaratnam Goh Chok Tong
Preceded by	Lim Yew Hock (as Chief Minister)
Succeeded by	Goh Chok Tong
Senior Minister
In office 28 November 1990 – 12 August 2004
Prime Minister	Goh Chok Tong
Preceded by	S. Rajaratnam
Succeeded by	Goh Chok Tong
Minister Mentor
In office 12 August 2004 – 21 May 2011
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Secretary-General of the People's Action Party
In office 21 November 1954 – 1 November 1992
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Goh Chok Tong
Member of Parliament for Tanjong Pagar GRC (Tanjong Pagar) (Tanjong pagar-Tiong Bahru) (2011-2015) Tanjong Pagar SMC (1955–1991)
In office 1991–2011
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Indranee Thurai Rajah
Personal details
Born	Harry Lee Kuan Yew (1923-09-16)16 September 1923 Straits Settlements, Singapore
Died	23 March 2015(2015-03-23) (aged 91) Singapore General Hospital, Singapore
Political party	People's Action Party (1955-2015)
Spouse(s)	Kwa Geok Choo
Children	Lee Hsien Loong Lee Wei Ling Lee Hsien Yang
Alma mater	Raffles Institution London School of Economics Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
Chinese name
Chinese	李光耀
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lǐ Guāngyào Wade–Giles Li3 Kuang1-yao4 Tongyong Pinyin Lǐ Guangyào Yale Romanization Lǐ Gwāngyàu IPA [lì kwáŋjâu] Hakka Romanization Lí Kông-yeu Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Leíh Gwōngjiuh IPA [le̬i kʷɔ́ːŋ jìːu] Jyutping Lei5 Gwong1-jiu6 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Lí Kong-iāu

(Tanjong pagar-Tiong Bahru) (2011-2015)

Harry Lee Kuan Yew CH GCMG SPMJ (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), informally known by his initials LKY, was the first Prime Minister of Singapore, governing for three decades. Lee is recognised as the nation's founding father, with the country described as transitioning from the "third world to first world in a single generation" under his leadership.

After attending the London School of Economics, Lee graduated from Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University, with double starred-first-class honours in law. In 1950, he became a barrister of the Middle Temple and practised law until 1959. Lee co-founded the People's Action Party (PAP) in 1954 and was its first secretary-general until 1992, leading the party to eight consecutive victories. After Lee chose to step down as Prime Minister in 1990, he served as Senior Minister under his successor, Goh Chok Tong until 2004, then as Minister Mentor (an advisory post) until 2011, under his son Lee Hsien Loong. In total, Lee held successive ministerial positions for 56 years. He continued to serve his Tanjong Pagar constituency for nearly 60 years as a Member of Parliament until his death in 2015. From 1991, he helmed the 5-member Tanjong Pagar GRC, and was returned unopposed for a record five elections.