page_title: Lee Kuan Yew
section_title: Merger with Malaysia (1963–1965)
hierarchical_section_title: Lee Kuan Yew / Prime Minister, pre-independence (1959–1965) / Merger with Malaysia (1963–1965)
caption_attribution_description: English: Lee Kuan Yew (centre) declaring the forming of the Federation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963.
context_page_description: Lee Kuan Yew GCMG CH SPMJ, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean politician and lawyer who served as the first Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. As one of the founding members of the People's Action Party, Lee is recognised as the nation's founding father, credited with rapidly transitioning the country from a "developing third world country into a developed first world country within a single generation" under his leadership.
  After attending the London School of Economics, Lee graduated from Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, with double starred-first-class honours in law. He became a barrister of the Middle Temple in 1950 and practised law until 1959. Lee co-founded the People's Action Party in 1954 and was its first secretary-general until 1992, leading the party to eight consecutive victories. After Lee chose to step down as Prime Minister in 1990, he served as Senior Minister under his successor Goh Chok Tong until 2004, then as Minister Mentor until 2011, under his own son Lee Hsien Loong. In total, Lee held successive ministerial positions for 56 years.
caption: Lee Kuan Yew declaring the forming of the Federation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963 in Singapore
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