SINGAPORE: First Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew died in hospital at the age of 91 on Monday.
He was one of the towering figures of post-colonial Asian politics. Lee’s son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, said in a statement that he was “deeply grieved to announce the passing of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the founding Prime Minister of Singapore”.
“Mr Lee passed away peacefully at the Singapore General Hospital today at 3.18 am,” the statement said. He was 91.
The elder Lee, who dominated Singapore politics for more than half a century, had been in hospital since February 5 with severe pneumonia.
Two years before he died, he disclosed that he had signed a medical directive instructing doctors not to use any life-sustaining treatment if he could not be resuscitated.
Lee was prime minister from 1959, when colonial ruler Britain granted Singapore self-rule, to 1990. He led Singapore to independence in 1965 after a brief and stormy union with Malaysia.
Prime Minister Lee also announced his father’s death on his Facebook page and was immediately flooded with messages of condolence.
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