The Resume

(September 16, 1923-March 23, 2015)
Born in Singapore
Birth name was Harry Lee Kuan Yew
First Prime Minister of Singapore (1959-90)
Remained in the cabinet as Senior Minister (1990-2004) and Minister Mentor (2004-11)

Why he might be annoying:

He was a black market trader during the Japanese occupation of Singapore in WWII.
He tried to silence journalists by filing libel suits over any negative coverage of him.
He said, 'I have always believed Machiavelli was right. If nobody is afraid of me, I’m meaningless.'
During his rule, caning became the mandatory punishment for over 40 offenses and an optional punishment for a similar number.
He banned chewing gum. (Although, contrary to rumor, possession is punished by a fine, not a caning.)
In leaked cables, he called Islam a 'venomous religion.'

Why he might not be annoying:

He was married to Kwa Geok Choo for 60 years until her death.
He was fluent in English, Mandarin and Malay.
He said his 'venomous religion' comment referred to 'extremist terrorists... and the jihadist preachers who brainwashed them.'
He oversaw the transformation of Singapore from an underdeveloped colonial outpost with few resources to one of the richest countries in Asia.
He was known for his pragmatic, non-ideological approach to the economy and governance.
Catherine Lim, a novelist and frequent critic of the Prime Minister, said, 'If they had three Lee Kuan Yews in Africa, that continent wouldn’t be in such a bad state.'
He said, 'I’m not saying that everything I did was right, but everything I did was for an honorable purpose.'

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 57]
• I am an Agnostic
• I Attended Cambridge
• I Attended London School of Economics
• I Died in 2015 (Ranked: 91)
• Known By a Middle Name
• Look at Me, I'm on the Cover of Time
• Look at My Magazine Cover
• Men Caught Weeping in Public
• Profiles 36501-36750 (Ranked: 36523)
• Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2005 [April 2005]
• Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2010 [May 2010]
• We Celebrated Our Golden Anniversary
• We Died on the Same Day (Ranked: 20150323)

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 90.0% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 121 Votes: 54.55% Annoying