Lee Kuan Yew - Singapore Prime Minister
INTRODUCTION
Lee Kuan Yew led Singapore to independence and served as its first Prime Minister. He was regularly re-elected from 1959 until he stepped down in 1990. Lee Kuan Yew was educated in England, and under his guidance Singapore became a financial and industrial powerhouse despite a lack of abundant natural resources. Lee ruled with ultimate authority, and his zeal for law and order was legendary. In 1990, he stepped down (though he remained in the cabinet as Senior Minister and now Minister Mentor) and was succeeded as Prime Minister by Goh Chok Tong.
ANCESTORY
He is a fourth-generation Singaporean. His great-grandfather had left Dapu County, Guangdong Province for Singapore at the age of 16. Lee's grandfather, Hoon Leong, went to an English school and began a career as a pharmacist, a trade dominated by the Hakkas. Lee's father, Chin Koon, first worked as a storekeeper at Shell and later at a jewellery shop.
Lee Kuan Yew was born in Singapore on September 16, 1923. Lee's birth was an occasion for great rejoicing in the Lee household. He was the first-born and he was a boy, important to the Chinese for perpetuating the family name. He gave his grandfather such great pride that the old man declared that the child should be educated to become the equal of any Englishman, that is, the model of perfection. The name chosen for him, Kuan Yew, means "the light that shines far and wide".
FAMILY
He is married to Kwa Geok Choo, a similarly brilliant mind who was a Queen's Scholar and the first Malayan woman to achieve a First Class Honors at Cambridge, a feat she achieved in just two years. Together, they formed the legal practice of Lee & Lee, and have two sons, Lee Hsien Loong and Lee Hsien Yang, and a daughter, Lee Wei Ling. Lee’s eldest son Brigadier-General Lee Hsien Loong is now the Prime Minister, one of the second-generation leaders to whom Lee and his cohorts have handed over power.
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
• 50 Most Powerful men in Asia
Lee Kuan Yew led Singapore to independence and served as its first Prime Minister. He was regularly re-elected from 1959 until he stepped down in 1990. Lee Kuan Yew was educated in England, and under his guidance Singapore became a financial and industrial powerhouse despite a lack of abundant natural resources. Lee ruled with ultimate authority, and his zeal for law and order was legendary. In 1990, he stepped down (though he remained in the cabinet as Senior Minister and now Minister Mentor) and was succeeded as Prime Minister by Goh Chok Tong.
ANCESTORY
He is a fourth-generation Singaporean. His great-grandfather had left Dapu County, Guangdong Province for Singapore at the age of 16. Lee's grandfather, Hoon Leong, went to an English school and began a career as a pharmacist, a trade dominated by the Hakkas. Lee's father, Chin Koon, first worked as a storekeeper at Shell and later at a jewellery shop.
Lee Kuan Yew was born in Singapore on September 16, 1923. Lee's birth was an occasion for great rejoicing in the Lee household. He was the first-born and he was a boy, important to the Chinese for perpetuating the family name. He gave his grandfather such great pride that the old man declared that the child should be educated to become the equal of any Englishman, that is, the model of perfection. The name chosen for him, Kuan Yew, means "the light that shines far and wide".
FAMILY
He is married to Kwa Geok Choo, a similarly brilliant mind who was a Queen's Scholar and the first Malayan woman to achieve a First Class Honors at Cambridge, a feat she achieved in just two years. Together, they formed the legal practice of Lee & Lee, and have two sons, Lee Hsien Loong and Lee Hsien Yang, and a daughter, Lee Wei Ling. Lee’s eldest son Brigadier-General Lee Hsien Loong is now the Prime Minister, one of the second-generation leaders to whom Lee and his cohorts have handed over power.
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
• 50 Most Powerful men in Asia