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Top 10 Amazing Facts about Lee Hsien Loong

Lee Hsien Loong, a Singaporean politician and former brigadier general, was born on February 10, 1952. Since 2004, he has held the positions of Prime Minister of Singapore and Secretary-General of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP).

He was the nation’s deputy prime minister from 1990 until 2004 before being named prime minister. Since 1991, he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Teck Ghee ward of the Ang Mo Kio GRC; from 1984 to 1991, he served as the Teck Ghee SMC MP. Lee Hsien Loong was born at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Singapore on February 10, 1952, when Singapore was still a British colony.

He was the oldest child of Lee Kuan Yew and Kwa Geok Choo and the patriline grandson of Chua Jim Neo (1905-1980), a chef, and Lee Chin Koon (1903-1995), a retired storekeeper turned salesman.  His mother has ancestors from Shantou and the Tong’an District of China.

The younger Lee, who frequently accompanied his father to rally sites, had mastered the Jawi script by the time he was five, according to the biography of Lee Kuan Yew.

These top 10 intriguing facts about Lee Hsien Loong will help you discover more about his fascinating life.

1.Lee Hsien Loong knows four different languages 

In addition to English and Mandarin, he is also proficient in Bahasa Melayu (he provides several speech segments in Malay, especially during the yearly National Day Rally). Oddly enough, he is also proficient in Russian, which he claims to have used, albeit rustily, five years ago:

2 Lee Hsien Loong has battled cancer twice in his lifetime

In April 1993, after receiving a 1992 lymphoma diagnosis, he entered remission. PM Lee had a prostate cancer diagnosis more recently, in 2015, and underwent surgery to have his prostate gland removed.

3.The female cabinet minister who serves in Lee Hsien Loong’s cabinet is a first for Singapore

2009 saw the appointment of Lim Hwee Hua as Singapore’s first female full minister. The Workers’ Party won the 2011 General Election, ending her team’s tenure in government, which included former foreign minister George Yeo.

4.The first Singaporean prime minister to apologise in public was PM Lee Hsien Loong

In reality, he did it twice—once in 2011 and again in 2017. The first public apology was made during the 2011 general election, a time of intense popular unrest toward the administration. The second apology was made after the controversy surrounding 38 Oxley Road, when his family’s problems were brought to the public’s attention.

5.Lee Hsien Loong used to be a clarinet player in the marching band at his school

He played clarinet and was a part of the Catholic High School Band in 1968.

6.After his father, the late Lee Kuan Yew, PM Lee is the second-longest-serving prime minister in Singapore

Despite the fact that Singapore has only had three prime ministers to yet, 15 years and counting is nevertheless a significant accomplishment. 

From 1965 to 1990, or more than 25 years, LKY was Singapore’s first prime minister, and he is likely to continue holding the record for the longest tenure in our history. 

From 1990 to 2004, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong presided as PM before handing the reins to PM Lee.

7.Even after accounting for inflation, PM Lee Hsien Loong remains the highest-paid PM of the three Singapore has had

PM Lee makes around S$2.2 million year, according to the 2017 Review of Salaries report. And he’s been quite good about it, growth-wise at least, bucking recommendations to increase salaries and sticking to the same amount for the past few years.

He also doesn’t receive bonuses because there isn’t anyone to evaluate how he’s doing.

That being said… the late LKY earned S$9,500 per month back in 1973, which, with 13th-month added to it, amounted to roughly S$364,000 annually after adjusting for inflation to 2018.

8.Singapore’s first senior wrangler is PM Lee Hsien Loong

At Cambridge, Lee Hsien Loong was the Senior Wrangler and the top-ranked student in the Math Tripos.  He received 31 alphas, which is 12 more than the runner-up.  

He was the class valedictorian and actually prevailed by a street. At the time, it was obvious who was superior, but the person who finished in second is today a top-tier mathematician.

9.Lee Hsien Loong’s military career

Lee enlisted in the Singapore Armed Forces in 1971, and from 1974 to 1984 he was an officer. He attended the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth in 1978, and he has held a number of staff and command positions, including Chief of Staff of the General Staff and Director of the Joint Operations and Plans Directorate.

After receiving a promotion in July 1983, Lee advanced swiftly through the ranks of the Singapore Army, becoming the nation’s youngest brigadier-general in history. Notably, he was given control of the rescue efforts after the Sentosa cable car accident.

Before departing the SAF in 1984 to pursue a career in civilian politics, Lee served as the commanding officer of the 23rd Battalion Singapore Artillery in the Singapore Army. 

10.Lee Hsien Loong in the PAP Youth committee

First Deputy Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and Lee spoke about how to persuade younger Singaporeans to join the party in March 1986. Goh was adamant that the planned committee should only draw in the right types of people, and he disapproved of financial incentives.

The purpose of the proposed youth wing was to promote system development from within and give new members a stake in the nation’s future.

Later, Lee said that the leadership’s anxieties about the younger generation voting for opposition parties and possibly toppling the PAP administration were the driving force behind the creation of the youth wing.

The youth wing was a “tailor-made” mechanism created by the government to promote opposing views.

Lee served as the inaugural chairman of the PAP Youth Committee, the organization that preceded Young PAP, when it was established. Lee enjoys computer programming, he constructed a Sudoku solver during his coding time.