Lee served as prime minister from 1959 to 1990; he died in 2015.
Here are three facts it’s best to know in regards to the man credited with making a prosperous Southeast Asian nation:
Before Singapore’s Changi Airport began operations in 1981, the island nation had a small industrial airport situated inland to the east of Singapore called Paya Lebar Airport.
While work was underway to expand Paya Lebar Airport, Lee envisioned a much larger airport being built on the island’s coast, which may very well be expanded in the long run by reclaiming land from the ocean.
“By the mid-1970s, it was clear that Paya Lebar Airport would not be able to cope with the growing traffic for an extended period of time,” Lee said in 2006 at a dinner to mark Changi Airport’s twenty fifth anniversary. “We needed a bigger airport, with at least two runways.”
The recent Changi Airport was to be five times larger than its predecessor. And Lee wanted the airport to be an extension of Singapore’s image as a garden city, The Business Times reported in 2015.
He desired to see plenty of trees planted and added that he would love to “see the jungle” on the drive from town to the airport, situated on the eastern end of the island.
In 2024, the airport had 4 operational terminals, with the fifth scheduled to open within the mid-2030s.
Singapore can be Asia’s largest financial centre, overtaking Hong Kong in the most recent edition of the half-yearly Global Financial Centres Index.
Singapore’s economic growth has been largely as a consequence of Lee’s policies of attracting foreign investment and strengthening international ties.
Lee saw the advantages of attracting expert staff from abroad, which could boost the country’s productivity and stimulate the event of Singapore’s staff.
One way it achieved this was by making a world-class public education system, attracting international students.
The country’s largest public universities, the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University, were ranked eighth and fifteenth respectively within the 2025 QS Best Universities Rankings.
These universities received higher rankings than American Cornell, Princeton and Yale.
Lee reiterated his stance on foreign talent in 2011 when, on the age of 87, he was asked for his opinion on Singapore’s “ability to absorb” foreign professionals in the long run.
“If Singapore relies on the talent that its 3 million people can produce, it will not reach a level beyond its capabilities,” Lee replied.
Like other developed countries, Singapore is now tightening regulations on hiring foreigners, raising the minimum salary required to acquire a piece visa.
