Transformers: Lee Kuan Yew’s formula for building a nation

He is regarded as history’s greatest nation-builder. Margaret Thatcher called him “never wrong”. Henry Kissinger praised him as one of the most insightful leaders of the 20th century. Deng Xiaoping even sent 40,000 Chinese officials to learn from his methods. This is Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s founding father and longest-serving Prime Minister.

Born in 1923, Lee’s early years were shaped by the Great Depression, British colonialism, and Japanese occupation. Lee learnt the necessity of planning for the good and bad times. As a top student, he left Singapore for the UK, where he excelled at Cambridge, earning a first-class law degree in under three years.