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Lee Kuan Yew will be remembered forever as the man who transformed a mosquito-ridden colonial trading p.s. into a prosperous financial center behind clean streets, shimmering skyscrapers and a stable approach.Born in 1923, Lee became Prime Minister in 1959 following Singapore, a tiny spit of burning back no natural resources and a polyglot population of Chinese, Malays and Indians, was still British territory and beset by riots and unrest.
He presided greater than Singapore's pungent split from Malaysia in 1965 and molded the independent country into the global economic powerhouse it is today. "I was maddening to create, in a third-world situation, a first-world oasis," Lee told CNN in 2008.
But Lee was plus a divisive figure, attracting criticism for stuffy media general pardon and for the curt treatment of diplomatic opponents.
In 2013, protests on zenith of plans to confirm more immigrants into the city-come clean indicated growing apprehension along as well as Singaporeans approximately the vision of the country set forth by the People's Action Party -- the party co-founded by Lee that has ruled Singapore for five decades.
Lee voluntarily stepped down as Prime Minister in 1990, the first Asian strongman to obtain your hands on suitably.
However, he played a role in the country's Cabinet until 2011 in imitation of his eldest son, Lee Hsien Loong, was elected for a second term as prime minister.
The elder Lee retained his combination in the atmosphere concerning the world. "This is one of the legendary figures of Asia in the 20th and 21st centuries," U.S. President Barack Obama said during a meeting considering Lee at the White House in October 2009.
"He is somebody who helped to set in motion the Asian economic miracle," Obama auxiliary.
Health issues
But there were indications Lee's health had been slipping in recent years.
In 2010 he was admitted to the hospital subsequent to a chest infection and in to the fore 2013, Lee -- subsequently 89 -- was hospitalized and treated treated for "achievement-considering symptoms."
Lee Kuan Yew will at all times be remembered as the man who transformed a mosquito-ridden colonial trading toting taking place together into a prosperous financial middle bearing in mind than tidy streets, shimmering skyscrapers and a stable dispensation.
Born in 1923, Lee became Prime Minister in 1959 once Singapore, a tiny spit of home considering no natural resources and a polyglot population of Chinese, Malays and Indians, was still British territory and beset by riots and unrest.
He presided greater than Singapore's barbed split from Malaysia in 1965 and molded the independent country into the global economic powerhouse it is today. "I was maddening to make, in a third-world issue, a first-world oasis," Lee told CNN in 2008.
He was anew admitted to the hospital going in excuse to for February 5 for uncompromising pneumonia and more than six weeks unapproachable remained upon a ventilator.
A fourth-generation Singaporean, Lee's relatives originally emigrated from southern China.
A shiny student, he gained a place in the city's elite Raffles Institution and went upon to psychotherapy action at Fitzwilliam College at Cambridge.
He attributed his decision to go into politics to his experiences during the Japanese pursuit of Singapore.
"I scholarly how people survived and how people had to comply because you dependence to eat and your intimates needs to alive, so I bookish the meaning of facility," he told CNN in 2002.
The city Lee took run of in 1959 was still recovering from the ravages of court act and could not have been more alternating from today's Singapore. However, Lee told CNN he had no "enjoyable vision of transformation."
He concentrated upon attracting investment and creating jobs; first finding a vigorous recess in electronics manufacturing by touting Singapore as an exchange to Hong Kong, which he said was in turmoil due to the Cultural Revolution in China.
While Lee has been lauded for his economic accomplishments, he moreover created a Singapore bound by stringent laws and regulations that dictated most, if not all, aspects of organization -- including media and diplomatic freedoms, censorship and even the selling of chewing epoxy resin.
The country ranks 150th in Reporters Without Borders' 2014 Media Freedom Index, putting it just above the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mexico and Iraq.
The New York Times, The Economist, the International Herald Tribune and the Asian Wall Street Journal have all been targeted in the middle of the "judicial harassment" employed by the Lee familial, according to the media watchdog.
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