On 23 March 2015, Lee Kuan Yew, the founding prime minister of Singapore and co-founder of the People's Action Party, died at the age of 91 at 03:18 Singapore Standard Time (UTC+08:00), after having been hospitalised at the Singapore General Hospital with severe pneumonia since 5 February that year. A formal announcement was made on national television and radio by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at 08:00 that morning.
Many world leaders, governments, international organisations, and individuals issued public condolences. A week-long period of national mourning was declared by the government, from 23 to 29 March 2015. All flags, including the National Flag, in Singapore were flown at half-mast during the period. Lee was subsequently cremated at Mandai Crematorium and Columbarium on 29 March.
Timeline All times are set out in Singapore Standard Time (UTC+08:00).
Death of Lee Kuan Yew on 23 March 2015 03:18: Singapore's founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew died at the Singapore General Hospital. 04:07: Prime Minister's Office issued a statement acknowledging Lee Kuan Yew's death. Simultaneously, the statement was published via its official Facebook page. 04:11: The statement was first read via Channel NewsAsia, effectively suspending all Mediacorp's regular programming. 06:30: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and also eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew declared a seven-day period of national mourning. 08:00: The Prime Minister made a statement in Malay, Mandarin and English formally announcing the death. All radio and television stations carried the address "live".
Private wake On 23 March 2015 at 13:00, Lee's body was brought to the Istana, the official residence of the president of Singapore and the office of the prime minister. It was placed in Sri Temasek, the Prime Minister's official residence in the Istana grounds, where a private wake was held from 23 to 25 March 2015.
Mourning The government declared a weeklong mourning period from 23 to 29 March 2015 for Lee Kuan Yew. Flags were lowered to half-mast as a mark of respect. Most events and activities were scaled down, postponed or cancelled completely throughout the mourning period. Entertainment outlets, such as cinemas, theatres, nightclubs and bars announced that they would be closed or operate under reduced hours during this period.
Upon the announcement of his death, all free-to-air television channels and radio stations suspended their regular programming and simulcast special programmes from broadcasters Mediacorp and SPH Media, which consisted of a montage of videos and photos of Lee Kuan Yew's life, accompanied by coverage of live events from the Istana, Parliament House and the state funeral procession. Some pay-TV channels were blacked out and replaced by this programming too. Most Singaporean and some international websites switched to greyscale colour schemes as well.
18 community tribute sites were set up islandwide during the mourning period, to allow citizens and residents to pay tribute to the late prime minister. Each community tribute site consisted of wreaths from various citizens and organisations, as well as a projection screen showing montages of Lee Kuan Yew's life. Memorial ceremonies were held during certain evenings as well.
Singapore Turf Club announced they would cancel all the race meetings during the period of National Mourning.
Lying in state
The body of Lee Kuan Yew was conveyed by gun carriage from the Istana to the Parliament House on the morning of 25 March 2015. After leaving Sri Temasek, the gun carriage paused in front of the main Istana building to allow President Tony Tan Keng Yam, his wife Mrs. Mary Tan, emeritus senior minister and former prime minister Goh Chok Tong, and Istana staff to pay their respects. During this time, a piper from the Gurkha Contingent of the Singapore Police Force played "Auld Lang Syne" from the roof of the building. The cortege then made its way down Bras Basah Road and North Bridge Road, which were lined with members of the public, to Parliament House.
Lee's body lay in state at Parliament House from 25 March 2015 to 28 March 2015, which was subsequently opened 24 hours for the public to pay their respects. To facilitate this, Mass Rapid Transit services, Light Rail Transit services, and selected bus services ran for 24 hours on 25 and 27 March and throughout the early hours of the morning of 26 March 2015 and 28 March 2015. The Land Transport Authority announced that public transport services would end later than usual after midnight on 27 March 2015, but would not run throughout the night due to essential maintenance works.
Special parliamentary session On 26 March 2015 at 16:00, a special parliamentary session was held for Members of Parliament to pay tribute to Lee Kuan Yew. They included:
Ng Eng Hen (PAPBishan–Toa Payoh), minister for defence and Leader of the House Seng Han Thong (PAPAng Mo Kio) Low Thia Khiang (WPAljunied) Wong Kan Seng (PAPBishan–Toa Payoh) Thomas Chua Kee Seng (NMP) Masagos Zulkifli (PAPTampines), Minister for Environment and Water Resources Vikram Nair (PAPSembawang) Sim Ann (PAPHolland–Bukit Timah), Minister of State, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Communications and Information Chia Yong Yong (NMP) Christopher de Souza (PAPHolland-Bukit Timah) Indranee Rajah (PAPTanjong Pagar), Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Law and Ministry of Education
State and private funerals
Lee's state and private funeral services was held on Sunday, 29 March 2015. 87 bus services were either diverted, shortened or suspended from 11:30 to 19:00 to facilitate the road closures. The SCDF Public Warning System siren was sounded twice islandwide at 16:35 to signal the start and end of a minute of silence in honour of Mr Lee. Prior to the minute of silence, all MRT trains stopped at stations and opened their doors. Similarly, buses scheduled to depart from bus interchanges or terminals were held back during the one minute of silence. Passenger Information Displays in the MRT network and bus interchanges showed "One minute of silence for Mr Lee Kuan Yew". Announcements were also made at stations and on-board trains.
The state funeral was held at the University Cultural Centre, National University of Singapore, from 14:00. It was attended by members of Lee's family, the president, cabinet ministers, members of the Judiciary, Members of Parliament, and foreign leaders. Ordinary Singaporeans from all walks of life have also been invited to attend. The master of ceremonies was Peter Ong, head of the Civil Service. Ten eulogies were delivered, in the following order: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong Former president Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam Emeritus senior minister and former prime minister Goh Chok Tong Former cabinet minister Ong Pang Boon Former cabinet minister S. Dhanabalan Former senior minister of state Sidek bin Saniff Trade unionist G. Muthukumarasamy Tanjong Pagar community leader Leong Chun Loong Former journalist Cassandra Chew The younger son Lee Hsien Yang
The state funeral was followed by a private funeral at 5:00 pm at Mandai Crematorium for invited guests.
On 27 March 2015, Singapore's defence minister Ng Eng Hen mentioned in a Facebook post that the Singapore Armed Forces will accord Mr Lee due military honours. On the day of the state funeral, a 21-gun salute was fired by four ceremonial 25-pounder guns as the procession headed to University Cultural Centre. In addition, four Republic of Singapore Air Force black knights made a fly pass salute. The originally planned missing man formation was not flown due to rainy weather. As his body passed Esplanade Bridge, both RSS Dauntless and RSS Resilience conducted a ceremonial sailpast.
The 21-gun salute honour is traditionally only accorded to the heads of state. As Lee Kuan Yew was only a former head of government, he would typically only be entitled to a 19-gun salute. Special permission was given for the 21-gun salute to honour him.
Notable mourners Notable mourners at the private wake at Sri Temasek: CountryTitleNameSultan of BruneiHassanal Bolkiah Hong Kong business magnateLi Ka-shingHong Kong businessmanRichard LiHong Kong businessmanVictor Li Republic of China (Taiwan)President of the Republic of ChinaMa Ying-jeouFormer president of Control YuanFredrick ChienAustralian businesswomenGina Rinehart
Foreign dignitaries who paid their respects at Parliament House: CountryTitleDignitaryDeputy Foreign Minister of AfghanistanHekmat KarzaiSon of Crown Prince of BahrainIsa bin Salman bin Hamad Al KhalifaKing of BhutanJigme Khesar Namgyel WangchuckQueen of BhutanJetsun Pema Executive Chairman of Alibaba GroupJack Ma4.50 pm: Chinese billionaire, founder of the Alibaba Group Jack Ma among those paying respects to Mr Lee Kuan Yew at Parliament House.Vice-President of the People's Republic of China, member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist PartyLi Yuanchao Spouse of former president of IndonesiaAni YudhoyonoFormer co-ordinating Minister for Economics in the Indonesia cabinetChairul TanjungFormer Indonesian Ambassador to the United StatesDino Patti DjalalFormer Foreign Minister of IndonesiaHassan Wirajuda5th president of IndonesiaMegawati SukarnoputriFormer Indonesia presidential candidatePrabowo Subianto2.45 pm: Former Indonesia presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto just arrived at Parliament House to pay his respects to the late Mr Lee.Vice-chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly of IndonesiaSapta Odang6th president of IndonesiaSusilo Bambang YudhoyonoChairman of the People's Consultative Assembly of IndonesiaZulkifli HasanPresident of IsraelReuven Rivlin Malaysia Minister of Foreign AffairsAnifah AmanFormer Malaysia Finance MinisterDaim ZainuddinMalaysia Natural Resources and Environment MinisterG. PalanivelMalaysia Minister for TransportLiow Tiong LaiPrime Minister of MalaysiaNajib RazakRaja Permaisuri JohorRaja Zarith SofiaSpouse of the Prime Minister of MalaysiaRosmah MansorSultan of JohorSultan Ibrahim IsmailFormer president of the MaldivesMaumoon Abdul Gayoom Foreign Minister of MongoliaLundeg Purevsuren Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of OmanBadr bin Hamad Al Busaidi Foreign Minister of Sri LankaMangala Samaraweera Republic of China (Taiwan)Former ROC premier, former senior advisor to the president of the ROCHau Pei-tsunFormer president of East TimorJosé Ramos-HortaMember of the ruling Al Nahyan family of Abu DhabiSheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Former president of the United StatesBill ClintonFormer United States Secretary of StateHenry KissingerFormer Assistant to President for National Security AffairsThomas DonilonFormer US Ambassador to SingaporeSteven J. Green5.00 pm: We've just seen former US ambassador to Singapore Steven Green being received by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and wife Ho Ching at Parliament House.Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian NationsLê Lương Minh
Foreign dignitaries who represented their countries at Lee's state funeral at the University Cultural Centre, NUS, on 29 March 2015: CountryTitleDignitary AustraliaPrime Minister of AustraliaTony Abbott BangladeshMinister of Foreign Affairs (Bangladesh)Abul Hassan Mahmud Ali BhutanKing of BhutanJigme Khesar Namgyel WangchuckQueen of BhutanJetsun Pema BruneiSultan of BruneiHassanal Bolkiah CambodiaPrime Minister of CambodiaHun Sen CanadaGovernor General of CanadaDavid Johnston Vice-President of the People's Republic of China, member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist PartyLi Yuanchao Hong KongFormer chief executive of Hong Kong,