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Lee Hsien Yang

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In this Chinese name, the family name is Lee (李) and Hsien (显) is a generation name.
Lee Hsien Yang
PJG
李显扬
Chief Executive Officer of Singtel
In office
1995–2007
Non-Executive Director and Chairman of Fraser and Neave
In office
2007–2013
Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore
In office
2009–2018
Personal details
Born (1957-09-24) 24 September 1957 (age 66)
Colony of Singapore
Political partyProgress Singapore Party (2020–present)[1][2]
Spouse
Lim Suet Fern
​
(m. 1981)​
ChildrenLi Shengwu
Li Huanwu
Li Shaowu
Parent(s)Lee Kuan Yew (father)
Kwa Geok Choo (mother)
RelativesLee Hsien Loong (brother)
Lee Wei Ling (sister)
EducationTrinity College, Cambridge (BA)
Stanford University (MS)
OccupationBusiness executive
Military service
AllegianceSingapore
Branch/serviceSingapore Army
Years of service1976–1994
RankBrigadier general
Lee Hsien Yang
Traditional Chinese李顯揚
Simplified Chinese李显扬
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLǐ Xiǎnyáng

Lee Hsien Yang PJG (Chinese: 李显扬; pinyin: Lǐ Xiǎnyáng; born 24 September 1957)[3] is a Singaporean businessman and former brigadier-general. A prominent member of the Lee family, he is the younger brother of Lee Hsien Loong and the youngest son of Lee Kuan Yew, the founding prime minister of Singapore.

Early life and education

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Lee was born in Singapore on 24 July 1957. He attended Catholic High School[4] and National Junior College[5] before graduating from Trinity College, Cambridge, with a double first in engineering science under the President's Scholarship and Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship[6] awarded by the Public Service Commission. He subsequently went on to complete a Master of Science degree in management at Stanford University.[6]

Career

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Military

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Lee enlisted in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in 1976, and has held several command and staff appointments such as the Commander of the second Singapore Infantry Brigade, and had attained the rank of brigadier-general before retiring in 1994.[7]

Private

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After retiring from the military, Lee joined Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) in April 1994 as Executive Vice President of Local Services.[8] In May 1995, he became CEO of Singtel, where he served until March 2007.[6][9] That same year, Lee was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (PJG).

In September 2007, Fraser and Neave (F&N) appointed Lee as a Non-Executive Director and Chairman-designate with effect from 6 September 2007. Lee assumed the position of Non-Executive Chairman on 15 October 2007.[10] On 1 July 2009, Lee was appointed Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS)[11] by Minister for Transport Raymond Lim.[12] On 26 February 2013, it was announced that Lee had stepped down from the board of F&N.[13]

Lee has also held other positions in the private sector – Board Member and Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Singapore Exchange (SGX); Independent Director of the Islamic Bank of Asia, and the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ); Member of the Governing Board of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP); Member of the Board of Asia Pacific Investment; Chairman of Republic Polytechnic (RP); Member of the International Advisory Board of Rolls-Royce Holdings.[6][14] Lee stepped down as Chairman of the CAAS on 1 July 2018.[15]

Political involvement

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2020 general election

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Initially in 2006, Lee said that he has "no great interest to pursue a career in politics".[8]

Lee joined the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) led by the Tan Cheng Bock, on 24 June 2020,[1][2] claiming that the People's Action Party (PAP) has "lost its way", and that it is no longer the PAP with the "founding principles that Lee Kuan Yew had envisioned".[1][2] The PSP was one of the opposition parties that ran in the 2020 general election.

Lee ultimately decided not to run as a candidate for the 2020 general election, stating that "Singapore doesn't need another Lee".[16]

2023 presidential election

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In March 2023, Lee hinted in a phone call interview from Europe on running for the 2023 presidential election.[17]

Lee said during a telephone interview with Bloomberg in March 2023, "There is a view that depending on who they (referring to the People's Action Party) float, if I were to run they would be in serious trouble and could lose. A lot of people have come to me. They really want me to run. It's something I would consider." As of March 2023, both Lee and his wife, Lee Suet Fern, are currently in self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom after being under investigation for lying during judicial proceedings. Lee did not collect his application forms from the Elections Department.

However, it has been cited that he may not meet the eligibility requirements due to ongoing police investigations against him and his wife, Lim Suet Fern, over allegedly giving false evidence in the proceedings over his father Lee Kuan Yew's will.[18]

Ridout Road allegations

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See also: Ridout Road rentals

On 23 July 2023, a post was made on Lee's Facebook account, including the statement: "two ministers have leased state-owned mansions from the agency that one of them controls, felling trees and getting state-sponsored renovations".[19][20]

Within a week, Singaporean ministers K. Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan demanded that Lee apologize for and withdraw his statements, and additionally pay damages to them, which they said they would donate to charity; if he did not do so, they threatened to sue him.[21] Shanmugam alleged that Lee accused him and Balakrishnan of "acting corruptly and for personal gain by having Singapore Land Authority (SLA) give us preferential treatment" regarding the Ridout Road rentals.[22]

Lee responded: "My post did not assert that Shanmugam and V. Balakrishnan acted corruptly or for personal gain by having SLA give them preferential treatment … My post simply stated facts that were already widely published in the Singapore and international media."[23]

The two ministers proceeded to sue Lee for defamation. The Singapore High Court gave default judgment in November 2023 in favour of the ministers when Lee did not respond to the lawsuits. Lee was ordered to pay SGD 400,000 in total to the two ministers, comprising SGD 150,000 in general damages and SGD 50,000 in aggravated damages to each minister. Lee was also ordered to pay SGD 51,000 in costs to each Minister.[24] In his judgment, Justice Goh Yihan stated that he was satisfied that Lee had "consciously chosen not to respond" and the ministers were "public leaders and persons of the highest integrity who undoubtedly have a high standing", which was "a factor that points towards the award of higher damages".[25]

Personal life

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Lee is the younger son and youngest child of Lee Kuan Yew, former prime minister of Singapore, and Kwa Geok Choo, a lawyer. His elder brother, Lee Hsien Loong, is the former prime minister. His elder sister, Lee Wei Ling, is a former director of the National Neuroscience Institute.[4]

Lee first met Lim Suet Fern, the daughter of the economist Lim Chong Yah, while he was studying at University of Cambridge. They were married in July 1981.[26] Lim would later become the founder and managing partner of Stamford Law Corporation and a president of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA).[27] The couple have three sons: Li Shengwu, Li Huanwu, and Li Shaowu.[14] Their eldest son, Li Shengwu, is currently serving as Assistant Professor of Economics at Harvard University. He graduated from Balliol College of the University of Oxford as the top student in the Philosophy, Politics and Economics programme in 2009,[28] received a Master of Philosophy degree in economics from Oxford in 2011, and received a PhD from Stanford University in 2016.[29]

His child Li Huanwu came out as gay in July 2018.[30] Li Huanwu married his partner, Heng Yirui, a vet working for Mandai Wildlife Group,[31] in South Africa on 24 May 2019.[32]

Administrator of Lee Kuan Yew's will

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Lee and his sister, Lee Wei Ling, are the joint administrators and executors of Lee Kuan Yew's will. However, they were in a dispute in 2017 with Lee Hsien Loong over their late father's will with regard to the house at 38 Oxley Road. They "felt threatened by Lee Hsien Loong's misuse of his position and influence over the Singapore government and its agencies to drive his personal agenda". They alleged that their brother thwarted the will of their father in order to use the house as a monument to milk his father's legacy. They also criticised the influence of Ho Ching over the government, and alleged that the Prime Minister harboured political ambitions for his son, Li Hongyi.[33]

In 2017, a special parliamentary session was held to clear the Prime Minister of any wrongdoings and the siblings agreed to keep the dispute private after the session.[34][35] However, this ultimately did not become the case with it continuing to be highly publicised.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Koh, Fabian (24 June 2020). "GE2020: Lee Hsien Yang joins Tan Cheng Bock's Progress Singapore Party but mum on whether will contest July 10 election". The Straits Times. The Straits Times. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "GE2020: Lee Hsien Yang joins Tan Cheng Bock's Progress Singapore Party". CNA. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  3. ^ "新加坡李氏家族，学历最低的竟然是他！". shicheng.news (in Simplified Chinese). 30 April 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Swiss hotel desk clerk decreed Lee Kuan Yew to be Chinese". newnation. 27 November 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  5. ^ "The Lee Family Tree: Profiles Of Every Lee Member Involved In The Dispute". MSNEWS. 16 June 2017. Archived from the original on 20 April 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d "Lee Hsien Yang". INSEAD Leadership Summit Asia 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  7. ^ "Profile of BG Lee Hsien Yang, former Commander of the Second Singapore Infantry Brigade - BookSG - National Library Board, Singapore". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  8. ^ a b "SingTel CEO Lee Hsien Yang to call it quits". The Economic Times, The Times of India. 22 July 2006. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  9. ^ "SingTel names its financial chief CEO". China Economic Net. 22 September 2006. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  10. ^ "Lee Hsien Yang to be F&N chairman". www.asiaone.com. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  11. ^ "Our Authority Members". Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  12. ^ "Appointment of Authority Members for Restructured Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore". SG Press Centre. 29 June 2009. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  13. ^ Chan, Dennis (26 February 2013). "Lee Hsien Yang, 7 other directors step down from Fraser & Neave board". The Straits Times. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  14. ^ a b Raj, Conrad (4 September 2007). "Lee Hsien Yang tipped to be F&N chairman". AsiaOne News. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  15. ^ "Appointment of Chairman of The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore". Ministry of Transport. 21 June 2018. Archived from the original on 20 April 2020.
  16. ^ Koh, Fabian (1 July 2020). "Singapore GE2020: Lee Hsien Yang says he chose not to stand for political office". The Straits Times. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  17. ^ "Lee Hsien Yang weighing presidential bid, lawyers say court findings affect his eligibility". www.straitstimes.com. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  18. ^ "Lee Hsien Yang unlikely to meet criteria to run for elected presidency given court finding of lying under oath: Lawyers". CNA.
  19. ^ Lam, Lydia. "Shanmugam, Balakrishnan obtain court injunctions against Lee Hsien Yang over defamatory Ridout Road post". CNA.
  20. ^ Chua, Nadine (2 September 2023). "Ministers Shanmugam, Vivian Balakrishnan sue Lee Hsien Yang for defamation over Ridout Road claims". The Straits Times.
  21. ^ Yan Han, Goh (27 July 2023). "Shanmugam, Vivian to sue Lee Hsien Yang for defamation over Ridout Rd claims if he does not apologise". The Straits Times. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  22. ^ "Shanmugam, Balakrishnan to sue Lee Hsien Yang unless he withdraws Ridout Road allegations and apologises". CNA. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  23. ^ Qing, Ang (29 July 2023). "'My post simply stated facts': Lee Hsien Yang says Shanmugam, Vivian wrong to accuse him of making false allegations". AsiaOne.
  24. ^ "Lee Hsien Yang ordered to pay damages to Shanmugam, Vivian for defaming them over Ridout Road rentals". The Business Times.
  25. ^ Lam, Lydia (24 May 2024). "Lee Hsien Yang ordered to pay S$200,000 each to Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan for defamation". Channel News Asia.
  26. ^ Basu, Radha (8 December 2009). "I owe my life to education". AsiaOne News. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  27. ^ "Mrs Lee Suet Fern". Nanyang Technological University. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  28. ^ "Three S'poreans come out tops at Oxford". AsiaOne. 18 August 2009.
  29. ^ Li, Shengwu (28 February 2020). "Shengwu Li CV" (PDF). Google Docs. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  30. ^ Power, Shannon (23 July 2018). "Grandson of Singapore's founder Lee Kuan Yew comes out as gay". Gay Star News. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  31. ^ Heng, Yirui; Chong, Shin Min; Hsu, Chia-Da; Ahmad, Ali Anwar (October 2021). "Management of Entamoeba histolytica in the non-human primates at the Singapore Zoo". Parasitology Research. 120 (10): 3595–3602. doi:10.1007/s00436-021-07292-8. ISSN 1432-1955. PMID 34414509.
  32. ^ "Lee Hsien Yang's 2nd son, Li Huanwu, marries boyfriend in South Africa". Mothership.sg. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  33. ^ Holmes, Oliver (14 June 2017). "Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong denounced by siblings". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  34. ^ Kotwani, Monica; Zhu, Melissa; See Kit, Tang (3 July 2017). "PAP MPs raise questions over Oxley Road dispute in Parliament debate". CNA. Archived from the original on 15 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  35. ^ Abu Baker, Jalelah; Chia, Lianne (3 July 2017). "'An ugly media circus': Workers' Party urges settlement of Oxley Road dispute in court". CNA. Archived from the original on 11 December 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
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