Page 19 - The Art of Leadership (preview)

Mr Lee Kuan Yew
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First Prime Minister of Singapore
(1959–1990)
r Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first Prime Minister, was an integral figure in transforming the country
M into the progressive financial centre that it is today.
After graduating from Cambridge University, where he studied Law at Fitzwilliam College and earned a
Double Starred First Class Honours, Mr Lee returned to Singapore to practise law before launching his
political career in 1951. He helped found the People’s Action Party (PAP) and became its Secretary-
General in 1954. Thereafter, he led the party to win the 1959 Singapore General Election, where he was
elected Prime Minister of Singapore.
During his premiership, he led Singapore through its merger with Malaysia, and later separation and independ-
ence in 1965. The country blossomed into a first world economic hub and the PAP also won the General Elec-
tions eight times under his leadership. He was Senior Minister from 1990 to 2004 and Minister Mentor from
2004 to 2011.
Mr Lee won numerous honorary awards including the Order of Companions of Honour (1970), Knight
Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (1972), Freedom of the City of London (1982), Seri
Paduka Mahkota Johor (1984), Order of the Rising Sun (1967) and the Nishan-I-Quaid-I-Azam, Pakistan
(1988).
In October 2009, Mr Lee was conferred the first Lifetime Achievement Award by the US-ASEAN Business
Council at its 25 Anniversary Gala dinner in Washington, DC. He was also named in the 2010 TIME 100
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magazine as one of the most influential people in the world.
On 18 October, 2011, he received the Lincoln Medal in Washington, DC — an honour reserved for those who
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have exemplified the legacy and character embodied by former US President, Abraham Lincoln.
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Mr Lee passed away on 23 March, 2015. He is survived by his three children; Mr Lee Hsien Loong, who
is the current Prime Minister of Singapore, Dr Lee Wei Ling, and Mr Lee Hsien Yang.
Updated as at 12 April 2017
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