structural:scholar_edition, information:extraction
Lee Hsien Loong is a Singaporean politician and former brigadier-general who has been a senior minister of Singapore since 2024, having previously served as the third prime minister of Singapore from 2004 to 2024. He has served as the secretary-general of the People's Action Party (PAP) since 2004 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. He served in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) between 1971 and 1984, and attained the rank Brigadier-General, completing a Master of Public Administration degree at Harvard Kennedy School in 1980. Lee resigned from the SAF in 1984 to enter politics and was elected the MP for Teck Ghee SMC. Since its dissolution in 1991, he has represented the Teck Ghee ward of Ang Mo Kio GRC. Lee has served as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Finance, Minister for Trade and Industry, and Second Minister for Defence under two 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 days. 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. Further political reforms in 2010 saw increased online activism, as well as the number of Non-Constituency Members of Parliament (NCMPs) in Parliament. In between 2020 and 2021, Lee has oversaw the government response to COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent 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 de jure and de facto legalised same-sex sexual activity between men by repealing the then already unenforced colonial-era Section 377A. Lee is frequently noted by the international media as the world's highest-paid state leader. His libel suits against journalists and political opponents have been frequently covered by international news outlets. In April 2024, Lee announced that he would not seek a sixth term as prime minister in the forthcoming general election and resigned from his position as prime minister in May alongside his cabinet; he was succeeded by Lawrence Wong, who formed a new cabinet and subsequently appointed Lee as a Senior Minister.