Lee Hsien Loong

Lee Hsien Loong PPA(E) SPMJ DK (born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician and former military officer who served as the third prime minister of Singapore from 2004 to 2024, thereafter serving as a senior minister of Singapore. He served as the secretary-general of the People's Action Party (PAP) from 2004 to 2024, and has been the member of Parliament (MP) for the Teck Ghee division of Ang Mo Kio GRC since 1991, and previously Teck Ghee SMC from 1984 and 1991.

Born and raised in Singapore during British colonial rule, Lee is the eldest son of Singapore's first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew. He graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1974 with first class honours in mathematics and a Diploma in Computer Science with distinction (equivalent to a first-class master's in computer science). He served in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) between 1971 and 1984, and attained the rank of Brigadier-General, completing a Master of Public Administration degree at Harvard Kennedy School in 1980. Lee discharged from the SAF in 1984 to enter politics.

Lee served in several cabinet posts under prime ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong before assuming the office of prime minister in August 2004. In his first two years, his government enacted a five-day work week and extended maternity leave. His proposal to build two integrated resorts in Singapore to increase tourism revenue led to the development of the Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa. Following the Great Recession of 2008, he oversaw the country's economic recovery within two years. Political reforms in 2010 saw an increase in the number of non-constituency members of parliament. In 2020 and 2021, Lee oversaw the government response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated recession and recovery. In 2022, he also oversaw the government response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, making Singapore the only Southeast Asian country to impose sanctions on Russia. That same year, his government legalised same-sex sexual activity between men by repealing the unenforced colonial-era Section 377A. In April 2024, Lee announced that he would not seek a sixth term as prime minister in the forthcoming general election; he was succeeded by Lawrence Wong, who formed a new cabinet and subsequently appointed Lee as a senior minister.

Lee's premiership had been marked by maintaining political continuity, institutional stability and technocratic governance under the PAP. He implemented incremental political reforms and social policy enhancements such as expanded safety nets and public housing to address inequality. However, his tenure drew criticism for the continued high level of control exercised over political discourse similar to his father. His use of defamation lawsuits against journalists, bloggers and opposition figures including cases involving Roy Ngerng and Leong Sze Hian was widely reported and criticised as a means of discouraging further dissent. His leadership was also marked by a public family dispute with his siblings over the fate of their late father's house at 38 Oxley Road, which attracted significant media attention and public debate. His government's reliance on laws such as the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) also raised concerns about its chilling effect on free speech and democratic discourse. As prime minister, Lee was the highest-paid head of government in the world, a status that has continued under Wong's leadership.