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Singapore / USA: Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew accompanies US Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld through an honour cordon into the Pentagon, Washington DC, 2 May 2002

Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH (born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, 16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), was a Singaporean politician. He was the first Prime Minister of Singapore, governing for three decades. He has been described as the 'founding father' and 'architect' of modern Singapore.

As the co-founder and first Secretary-General of the People's Action Party (PAP), he led the party to eight victories from 1959 to 1990, and 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 was one of the most influential political figures in Asia.