Lee Kuan Yew, "Harry" to fellow students at Cambridge University, died last week at the age of 91. Lee dominated Singapore, the city-state that he ushered into independence and ran with ruthless efficiency, but his influence was felt far beyond its borders.
His keen intellect and vision prompted former U.S. President Richard Nixon to speculate that if Lee had lived in another era and place, he might have "attained the world stature of a Churchill, a Disraeli or a Gladstone."
After returning to Singapore to practice law, he helped form the People's Action Party (PAP) in 1954 and was first elected to Parliament a year later. In national elections held in 1959, the PAP swept 43 of 51 seats in the legislative assembly and Lee was named the country's first prime minister. (Singapore was not fully independent, as Great Britain retained control of foreign and defense policy.) Lee backed a merger with Malaysia, an experiment that failed after two years; throughout his life, discussing that episode would bring tears to his eyes.