Introduction
Lee Kuan Yew was born in Singapore on September 16, 1923.
Kuan Yew, means "the light that shines far and wide".
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'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".)
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Birth, Zodiac, etc
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Date of Birth
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16-SEP-1923
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Zodiac sign
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Virgo
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Chinese sign
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Year of Water Pig
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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 Honours 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.
Eldest son Brigadier-General Lee Hsien Loong is deputy prime minister, one
of the second-generation leaders to whom Lee and his cohorts have handed
over power. He is strongly tipped to be the next Prime Minister of Singapore
after present Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.
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Family
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Wife
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Kwa Geok Choo
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Sons
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Lee Hsien Loong
Lee Hsien Yang
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Daughter
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Lee Wei Ling
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Upbringing & education
He studied at Raffles Institution and Raffles College, and proceeded
to Cambridge to read law. After graduating in 1949 with a double First
Class Honours and a star for "special distinction", he returned to
Singapore to practice law at a well known firm, Laycock and Ong.
Lee emerged as the top Malayan boy in the Senior Cambridge examinations. At
the age of 19, his studies were interrupted by the Japanese invasion. After
the war, he took law at Cambridge University, where he scored a double
first (first-class honors in two subjects) in law.
Political career
In November 1954, led by young Lee, a group of British-educated,
middle-class Chinese who had returned to Singapore in the early 1950s after
studying in Britain formed the People's Action Party. The party sought to
attract a following among the mostly poor and non-English-speaking masses.
Lee became the first offically elected Prime Minister of Singapore. He
stayed in office from 1959 to 1990, when he voluntarily stepped down from
office to let a group of second-generation leaders take over the running of
the government.
Lee's intellect and energy shaped bold -- and often uncompromising --
responses to the challenges of wresting rule from the British and building
a nation. His government sought to build a multiracial and multilingual
society that would be unified by a sense of a unique "Singaporean
identity".
During Lee's long rule, Singapore experienced remarkable economic growth
and diversification. In addition to enhancing its position as a world trade
centre, it has developed powerful financial and industrial sectors.
Singapore has the most advanced economy in Southeast Asia. An island of 600
square kilometres, with three million people, it is the ninth richest
country in per capita terms today.
Even in his graying years, the founding prime minister of Singapore wields
very strong influence. He is regarded as virtually a national institution
at home. Governments elsewhere solicit his advice on development, and his
insights on a changing world, particularly the rise of Asia, are widely
respected.
The story of how Lee transformed Singapore is a fascinating one because no
other leader in the modern world has had such a hand in influencing and
directing his country's progress from independence to developed nation
status the way he has. None has straddled the two worlds with as much
success: the revolutionary world in the first half of this century for
independence from empire, and the development world in the second half for
wealth and progress.
That Singapore is a success today and the success is largely attributable
to Lee, there can be few doubts, even among his most severe critics.
Awards & Recognition
- 50 Most Powerful men in Asia
Guru of Asian values, architect of Singapore's development. Still sought after for advice and comment.
- Architect of the century
Ideas & Beliefs & vision
Updates soon ....
Links
LKY : An Overview - The literature, culture and society of Singapore
Books about lky
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Books
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The Singapore Story (Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew)
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Book written by SM Lee and is acclaimed by many world leaders
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Lee Kuan Yew: The Man & His Ideas
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Based on 13 fresh and exclusive interviews with Lee — the most extensive he has ever given — the book chronicles his life and ideas; from his early political awakening in Cambridge to his present position as an elder statesman widely sought after for his views on international affairs.
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Other book updates soon ...
Articles & speeches by LKY.
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