9 years ago
3
Lee Kuan Yew, Founding Father and First Premier of Singapore, Dies at 91
As prime minister for 31 years, Mr. Lee transformed the tiny island outpost into a modern, affluent city-state admired for its efficiency and low level of corruption.
Continue Reading http://www.nytimes.com
Additional Contributions:
Join the Discussion
A week of mourning has been declared here, along with a public funeral. https://www.facebook.com/leehsienloong/posts/880956571967050
Lee Kuan Yew was pretty much the last surviving member of the first generation of government pioneers who helped see Singapore through the uncertain years of early independence. He's not the sole person for Singapore's success - pretty much everyone in the cabinet played their parts - but as the first Prime Minister he had to hold a lot of personal responsibility.
His death is symbolically equivalent to the end of that era of the pioneer government. Bittersweet for this to happen right in the country's 50th year of independence.
He created an honest and transparent government. Singapore has a booming economy with basically zero natural resources.
One of the great minds of the 20th Century, respect.