Mar 23, 2015

Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father of Singapore who guided its development into a modern, stable nation as well as one of the world’s richest, has died, the government announced.

: A Singaporean lays a flower at the entrance to the Istana presidential palace following the death of former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore on March 23, 2015. Singapore’s first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, one of the towering figures of post-colonial Asian politics, died at the age of 91 on March 23 in hospital, the government said. (AFP Photo/Mohd Rasfan)

: A farewell message to former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew at the hospital where he passed away, Monday, March 23, 2015 in Singapore. Singaporeans wept and world leaders paid tribute Monday as the Southeast Asian city-state mourned the death of its founding father Lee Kuan Yew. The government announced that Lee “passed away peacefully” several hours before dawn at Singapore General Hospital. He was 91. (AP Photo/Joseph Nair)

: A man mourns the passing of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew outside the Singapore General Hospital on March 23, 2015 in Singapore. Former Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, 91, died last night at Singapore General Hospital after spending several weeks in critical condition after being admitted for pnemonia on February 5. Lee Kuan Yew served as the first Prime Minister of Singapore when it gained rule from Britain in 1959 and until he stepped down in 1990. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)

: A woman is comforted by a hospital staff member, right, as she cries at Singapore General Hospital where former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew passed away in Singapore, Monday, March 23, 2015. Singapore mourned longtime leader Lee Kuan Yew with raw emotion and a blanket of relentlessly positive coverage on its tightly scripted state television on Monday, mythologizing a man who was as respected as he was feared. (AP Photo/Joseph Nair)

: The Singaporean national flag flies at half-mast at Embassy of The Republic of Singapore on March 23, 2015 in Beijing, China. Lee Kuan Yew, former Prime Minister of Singapore, died at the age of 91 at Singapore General Hospital on Monday morning. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images)

: A woman writes a tribute while holding a bunch of sunflowers as she waits in the queue outside the Istana main gate following the passing of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew on March 23, 2015 in Singapore. Former Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, 91, died last night at Singapore General Hospital after spending several weeks in critical condition after being admitted for pnemonia on February 5. Lee Kuan Yew served as the first Prime Minister of Singapore when it gained rule from Britain in 1959 and until he stepped down in 1990. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)

: Gunasegaran S., 51, from Singapore prays quietly outside the Istana presidential palace where boards were erected for members of the public to offer their condolences, Monday, March 23, 2015, in Singapore. Singaporeans wept and world leaders paid tribute Monday as the Southeast Asian city-state mourned the death of its founding father Lee Kuan Yew. The government announced that Lee “passed away peacefully” several hours before dawn at Singapore General Hospital. He was 91. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

: A man reads a free special edition newspaper at Raffles Place following the passing of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew on March 23, 2015 in Singapore. Former Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, 91, died last night at Singapore General Hospital after spending several weeks in critical condition after being admitted for pnemonia on February 5. Lee Kuan Yew served as the first Prime Minister of Singapore when it gained rule from Britain in 1959 and until he stepped down in 1990. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)

: People pen tributes outside the Istana main gate following the passing of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew on March 23, 2015 in Singapore. Former Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, 91, died last night at Singapore General Hospital after spending several weeks in critical condition after being admitted for pneumonia on February 5. Lee Kuan Yew served as the first Prime Minister of Singapore when it gained rule from Britain in 1959 and until he stepped down in 1990. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)

: Singaporeans write down condolence messages at the entrance to the Istana presidential palace following the death of former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore on March 23, 2015. Singapore’s first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, one of the towering figures of post-colonial Asian politics, died at the age of 91 on March 23 in hospital, the government said. (AFP Photo/Mohd Rasfan)

: A Singaporean leaves a condolence message at the entrance to the Istana presidential palace following the death of former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore on March 23, 2015. Singapore’s first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, one of the towering figures of post-colonial Asian politics, died at the age of 91 on March 23 in hospital, the government said. (AFP Photo/Mohd Rasfan)

: Visitors take pictures of themselves in an area set aside for tributes to former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew at the hospital where he passed away, Monday, March 23, 2015 in Singapore. Singaporeans wept and world leaders paid tribute Monday as the Southeast Asian city-state mourned the death of its founding father Lee Kuan Yew. The government announced that Lee “passed away peacefully” several hours before dawn at Singapore General Hospital. He was 91. (AP Photo/Joseph Nair)

: A Singaporean cries as she reads condolence messages at the entrance to the Istana presidential palace following the death of former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore on March 23, 2015. Singapore’s first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, one of the towering figures of post-colonial Asian politics, died at the age of 91 on March 23 in hospital, the government said. (AFP Photo/Mohd Rasfan)

: Singapore’s ambassador to Seoul, Yip Wei Kiat, walks past wreaths for the late Singaporean former leader Lee Kuan Yew at the Singapore embassy in Seoul on March 23, 2015. South Korean President Park Geun-Hye expressed her deep sorrow over the death of Singapore’s first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, one of the towering figures of post-colonial Asian politics, who died at the age of 91 on March 23 in Singapore. (AFP Photo/Jung Yeon-je)

: In this Nov. 16, 2012, file photo, then U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, left, poses with Singapore’s then former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew for photographers at the Istana, or Presidential Palace, in Singapore. Lee brought prosperity to Singapore with an authoritarian system designed to outlast him, but that legacy may be ill-suited for the 21st-century challenges facing the tropical city-state. One of the last of a generation of Southeast Asian strongmen, Lee died Monday, March 23, 2015, at age 91. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

: In this Feb. 18, 1972, file photo, Singapore’s then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, right, shakes hands with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, as she arrived in Singapore during her tour of the Far East. Lee brought prosperity to Singapore with an authoritarian system designed to outlast him, but that legacy may be ill-suited for the 21st-century challenges facing the tropical city-state. One of the last of a generation of Southeast Asian strongmen, Lee died Monday, March 23, 2015, at age 91. (AP Photo/ Max Nash, File)

: In this Jan. 7, 1969, file photo, then Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, right, talks with then Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau, left, before the opening session of the Commonwealth Prime Ministers conference at Marlborough House, in London. Lee brought prosperity to Singapore with an authoritarian system designed to outlast him, but that legacy may be ill-suited for the 21st-century challenges facing the tropical city-state. One of the last of a generation of Southeast Asian strongmen, Lee died Monday, March 23, 2015, at age 91. (AP Photo/File)

Lee, 91, had been hospitalized since Feb. 5 for pneumonia and recently had been on life support. He “passed away peacefully” early Monday, the prime minister’s office said.

Lee led Singapore from 1959 to 1990 and remained a member of parliament after leaving the office of prime minister. His son, Lee Hsien Loong, is Singapore’s third and current prime minster, and the small nation is celebrating its 50th anniversary of independence this year.

President Obama hailed Lee as “a true giant of history” and “one of the treat strategists of Asian affairs.” Obama met Lee during his 2009 visit to Singapore.

“A visionary who led his country from Singapore’s independence in 1965 to build one of the most prosperous countries in the world today, he was a devoted public servant and a remarkable leader,” Obama said in a statement issued Sunday night by the White House.

The prime minister declared a period of mourning, from Monday to Sunday, with flags at half-staff.

Singapore mourns the death of Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew

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