The son of Singapore's immensely powerful founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, Lee entered the nation's armed forces after graduating from England's prestigious Cambridge University with first class honours in mathematics.

Lee quickly rose through the ranks and ended his military career as a brigadier-general in 1984 at the age of just 32 to follow his father into politics as a member of the ruling People's Action Party.

In what political analysts have described as a "meteoric" rise through Singapore's political system, Lee was appointed deputy prime minister to serve under Goh Chok Tong in 1990 at the age of 38.

His father, who stood down for Goh after 31 years as Singapore's leader, had earlier appointed Lee as a junior minister of trade and industry. Lee has since held most senior economic posts on his way up the government hierarchy.

Aside from his deputy prime ministership duties, which he currently shares with Co-ordinating Minister for Defence Tony Tan, he was appointed central bank chairman in 1998 and finance minister in 2001, positions he still holds.

Lee's political future was placed in doubt when he was diagnosed with cancer of the lympathic system in 1992, but, after a period of treatment during which he scaled down his public activities, he was declared cancer-free.

While Lee has suffered few other setbacks in a career that critics say has been smoothed by the influence of his father, who still wields power as the nation's senior minister, both have consistently denied charges of nepotism.

The elder Lee specifically addressed the issue in his political memoirs in reference to his son's promotion to deputy prime minister in 1990.

"Many of my critics thought this smacked of nepotism, that he was unduly favoured because he was my son.

On the contrary ... it would not be good for Singapore or for Loong to have him succeed me," Lee wrote.

"He was still young and it was better that someone else succeed me as prime minister. Then, were Loong to make the grade later, it would be clear that he made it on his own merit."

The Lees are also recognised as being more than willing to sue anyone who suggests impropriety about their family's influence.

The younger Lee's wife, Ho Ching, is the executive director of the government's powerful investment arm, Temasek Holdings, while his brother, Lee Hsien Yang, is chief executive of Singtel, the country's biggest phone company.

The younger Lee has a reputation as an intelligent bureaucrat but stern and in the authoritarian mould of his father, leading to a public relations campaign in the local media this year to project a softer image.

But in a speech in January seen as giving an outline of his plans for Singapore, Lee echoed his father while warning political opponents of their fate if they criticised to "score political points and undermine the government's standing".

"They are fully entitled to do so, but the government has to rebut or even demolish them," he said.

                                                      Home