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Lee Kuan Yew. Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG CH was born on 16 September 1923. He is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades. By the time he stepped down, he had become the world's longest-serving prime minister. Family background.
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Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG CH was born on 16 September 1923. He is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades. By the time he stepped down, he had become the world's longest-serving prime minister.
Family background According to his autobiography, Lee is a fourth-generation Singaporean. Lee Kuan Yew's grandfather is Lee Hoon Leong. He was born in Singapore in 1871, and was a British subject. He was educated in English at Raffles Institution to standard V, which is equivalent to lower secondary school in Singapore today. Lee Hoon Leong worked as a dispenser an unqualified pharmacist when he left school, and later worked as a purser on board a steamer which belonged to the Heap Eng Moh Shipping Line, which was then owned by Chinese businessman Oei Tiong Ham. Lee Hoon Leong would go on to have two wives (common for Singaporeans at that time), five daughters and three sons. One of his sons, Lee Chin Koon, also English-educated and a British subject, would go on to marry Chua Jim Neo, who gave birth to Lee Kuan Yew, in 1923, at 92 Kampong Java Road in Singapore. Lee Kuan Yew has three brothers -- Dennis Lee, Freddy Lee and Lee Suan Yew. He also has one sister -- Monica Lee. Lee and his wife Kwa Geok Choo were married on 30 September 1950. Both speak English as their native tongue. Lee started learning Chinese in 1955 at age 32, before that he was illiterate in Chinese. Lee also learned Japanese as an adult and he worked as a Japanese translator during the Japanese occupation of Singapore.
Prime Minister Pre-independence – 1959 to 1965 In the national elections held on 1 June 1959, the PAP won 43 of the 51 seats in the legislative assembly. Singapore gained self-government with autonomy in all state matters except defence and foreign affairs, and Lee became the first Prime Minister of Singapore on 5 June 1959, taking over from Chief Minister Lim Yew Hock.[24] Before he took office, Lee demanded and secured the release of Lim Chin Siong and Devan Nair, who had been arrested earlier by Lim Yew Hock's government. Lee faced many problems after gaining self-rule for Singapore from the British, including education, housing, and unemployment.
Post-independence – 1965 to 1990 In his autobiography, Lee stated that he did not sleep well, and fell sick days after Singapore's independence. Upon learning of Lee's condition from the British High Commissioner to Singapore, John Robb, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson expressed concern, in response to which Lee replied: “ Do not worry about Singapore. My colleagues and I are sane, rational people even in our moments of anguish. We will weigh all possible consequences before we make any move on the political chessboard...” Lee began to seek international recognition of Singapore's independence. Singapore joined the United Nations on 21 September 1965, and founded the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on 8 August 1967 with four other South-East Asian countries. Lee made his first official visit to Indonesia on 25 May 1973, just a few years after the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation under Sukarno's regime. Relations between Singapore and Indonesia substantially improved as subsequent visits were made between Singapore and Indonesia.
Senior Minister – 1990 to 2004 After leading the PAP to victory in seven elections, Lee stepped down on 28 November 1990, handing over the prime ministership to Goh Chok Tong. He was then the world's longest-serving prime minister. This was the first leadership transition since independence. When Goh Chok Tong became head of government, Lee remained in the cabinet with a non-executive position of Senior Minister and played a role he described as advisory. In public, Lee would refer to Goh as "my Prime Minister", in deference to Goh's authority. He has said in a 1988 National Day rally: “ Even from my sick bed, even if you are going to lower me into the grave and I feel something is going wrong, I will get up.” Lee subsequently stepped down as the Secretary-General of the PAP and was succeeded by Goh Chok Tong in November 1992.
Minister Mentor – 2004 to 2011 Since the 2000s (decade), Lee has expressed concern about the declining proficiency of Mandarin among younger Chinese Singaporeans. In one of his parliamentary speeches, he said: "Singaporeans must learn to juggle English and Mandarin". Subsequently, in December 2004, a one-year long campaign called Huayu Cool! was launched, in an attempt to attract young viewers to learn and speak Mandarin. In November 2010, Lee's private conversations with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg on 30 May 2009 were among the U.S. Embassy cables leaked by WikiLeaks. In a U.S. Embassy report classified as 'Secret', Lee gave his assessment of a number of Asian leaders and views on political developments in North Asia, including implications for nuclear proliferation. Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed deep concern about the leaks, especially when read out of context, and the need to protect confidentiality of diplomatic correspondence.
Legacy During the three decades in which Lee held office, Singapore grew from being a developing country to one of the most developed nations in Asia, despite its small population, limited land space and lack of natural resources. Lee has often stated that Singapore's only natural resources are its people and their strong work ethic. He is widely respected by many Singaporeans, particularly the older generation, who remember his inspiring leadership during independence and the separation from Malaysia. Indeed, for many people in Singapore and other countries, Lee is inextricably linked with their perceptions of Singapore's country brand. On the other hand, many Singaporeans have criticised Lee as being authoritarian and intolerant of dissent, citing his numerous mostly successful attempts to sue political opponents and newspapers who express an unfavorable opinion. International media watchdog Reporters Without Borders has asked Lee, and other senior Singaporean officials, to stop taking libel actions against journalists. In 2004 the National University of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy was named after him, one of the first cases of an institution in Singapore doing so.
