Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH (Honorary) (English name: Harry, Chinese: 李光耀; pinyin: Lǐ Guāngyào; POJ: Lí Kong-iāu; born 16 September 1923; also Lee Kwan-Yew) is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, from 1959 to 1990, and was one of the longest serving Prime Ministers in the world.
As the co-founder and first secretary-general of the People's Action Party (PAP), he led the party to a landslide victory in 1959, oversaw the separation of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965 and its subsequent transformation from a relatively underdeveloped colonial outpost with no natural resources into a "First World", Asian Tiger. He has remained one of the most influential political figures in South-East Asia.
Under the administration of Singapore's second prime minister, Goh Chok Tong, he served as Senior Minister. He currently holds the post of Minister Mentor, a post created when his son, Lee Hsien Loong, became the nation's third prime minister on 12 August 2004. Because of his continued Ministerial posts, he became one of the longest serving ministers in the world.
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