Lee Kuan Yew, (born Sept. 16, 1923, Singapore—died March 23, 2015, Singapore), Prime minister of Singapore (1959–90). Born to a wealthy Chinese family, Lee studied at the University of Cambridge and became a lawyer and a socialist. He worked as a legal adviser to labour unions and won election to Singapore’s legislative council in 1955, while the country was still a British crown colony. He helped Singapore achieve self-government and, running as an anticolonialist and anticommunist, was elected prime minister in 1959. His numerous reforms included the emancipation of women. He briefly entered Singapore in the Federation of Malaysia (1963–65); on its withdrawal, Singapore became a sovereign state. Lee industrialized the country and made Singapore the most prosperous nation in Southeast Asia. He achieved both labour peace and a rising standard of living for workers, though his mildly authoritarian government at times infringed on civil liberties.
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prime minister Summary
Prime minister, the head of government in a country with a parliamentary or semipresidential political system. In such systems, the prime minister—literally the “first,” or most important, minister—must be able to command a continuous majority in the legislature (usually the lower house in a
Singapore Summary
Singapore, city-state located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, about 85 miles (137 kilometres) north of the Equator. It consists of the diamond-shaped Singapore Island and some 60 small islets; the main island occupies all but about 18 square miles of this combined area. The main island
government Summary
Government, the political system by which a country or community is administered and regulated. Most of the key words commonly used to describe governments—words such as monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy—are of Greek or Roman origin. They have been current for more than 2,000 years and have not