Lee Kuan Yew, founding father of modern Singapore and one of the most influential global leaders of the 20th century, has died aged 91, half a century after he led the tiny Asian city-state to independence in 1965.
Singapore’s first prime minister, Mr Lee ruled the island nation from 1959 for three decades, overseeing its transformation from tropical Southeast Asian backwater in the declining years of British colonial rule, into one of the most remarkable economic success stories of the 20th century.
He combined an authoritarian streak and appetite for social engineering with a determination to cement Singapore’s status as the most business-friendly location in the region by eliminating corruption and building a politically neutral jurisdiction based on the British legal system.