Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first prime minister, dies at 91
Lee Kuan Yew, the first prime minister of Singapore, died Monday at Singapore General Hospital. He was 91.
The news was announced by the office of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, his son. Lee had been in the hospital for several weeks battling pneumonia. After a week of mourning, a state funeral will be held for Lee on March 29.
Lee was a co-founder of the People's Action Party (PAP), which has governed Singapore since 1959. He served as prime minister for 31 years, and oversaw Singapore's independence from Britain and separation from Malaysia in 1965. As the BBC reports, Lee was considered the "architect of Singapore's prosperity," as he turned the city-state into a wealthy and cosmopolitan center, but was also criticized for restricting freedom of speech and letting the courts target political opponents. Reuters has a look at his life and legacy in the video below. —Catherine Garcia
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Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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