Lee Kuan Yew (born 1923) became prime minister of Singapore in June 1959. During his administration Singapore became part of Malaysia in September 1963 and attained independence in August 1965 after separation from Malaysia. Under Lee's leadership, Singapore was transformed into a modern and affluent city-state.

Lee Kuan Yew was born in Singapore on September 16, 1923. He came from a middle class Chinese Hakka family which had been established in Singapore since his great grandfather migrated to the island in the mid-19th century. In 1931 he attended the Telok Kurau English School. Four years later, he moved to Raffles Institution, where he excelled in his studies and was always at the top of his class. Even at that early age, Lee demonstrated his potential and one of his teachers in Raffles Institution correctly predicted that he would "do well, unusually well" and attain "a high place in life." In 1939 Lee sat for the...