Description Lee Kuan Yew (1923– ) is a prominent Singaporean statesman. He was the first prime minister of the Republic of Singapore and governed the island nation for three decades (1959–1990). By the time he stepped down to enable a smooth leadership renewal, he had become the world’s longest-serving prime minister. He was Singapore’s senior minister (SM) from 1990 to 2004 and then minister mentor (MM) from 2004 to 2011. As the co-founder and first secretary-general of the People’s Action Party (PAP), he led the party to eight victories from 1959 to 1990, oversaw the separation of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965, and engineered its subsequent transformation from an underdeveloped colonial outpost with no natural resources into a First-World Asian Tiger. He remains one of the most influential political figures in Southeast Asia.
The Papers of Lee Kuan Yew: Speeches, Interviews and Dialogues is a compilation of all the speeches, interviews and press conference presentations delivered by Lee Kuan Yew from 1950 through 1990. It covers four decades, including the period before Lee became the prime minister of Singapore and the period when he served as the prime minister. It consists of ten volumes covering the following years: 1950–1962 (Volume 1), 1963–July 1965 (Volume 2), August 1965–1966 (Volume 3), 1967–1968 (Volume 4), 1969–1971 (Volume 5), 1972–1974 (Volume 6), 1975–1977 (Volume 7), 1978–1980 (Volume 8), 1981–1987 (Volume 9), and 1988–1990 (Volume 10).
Features
The most comprehensive collection of various types of presentations of Lee Kuan Yew, the founding prime minister of Singapore.
A first-hand source for examining the thoughts of Lee over four decades (1950—1990) on a wide range of topics such as independence, decolonisation, Malaysian Malaysia, separation from Malaysia, British withdrawal, industrialisation, public housing, multiracial harmony, civil service and leadership succession.
Rare historical photos are dispersed throughout the volumes to give readers a sense of time and place.
Some terms and names are annotated to help readers unfamiliar with contexts unique to Singapore and Southeast Asia.