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Lee Hsien Loong (Hanzi: 李显龙/李顯龍; born February 10 1952) is the third Prime Minister of Singapore. He also serves as the Minister for Finance. Lee Hsien Loong is the eldest son of Singapore's first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and is married to Ho Ching who is the Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the government-owned Temasek Holdings.
He went through his secondary education at Catholic High School and studied at National Junior College subsequently. He studied mathematics in the University of Cambridge. He attended the Kennedy School of Government in Harvard University to gain a Master's degree in public administration.
Lee joined the Singapore Armed Forces in 1971, retiring as brigadier general in 1984 when he was elected as a Member of Parliament. Two years later he was elected to the Central Executive Committee of the People's Action Party, and was appointed Deputy Prime Minister on November 26 1990. He was appointed Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore in January 1998, and Minister for Finance
in November 2001.
In August 2003, the then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, made it known that Lee would be his successor. In an attempt to relieve the people's fears that Lee would revert back to his father's (Lee Kuan Yew) harsh methods of governing, Goh Chok Tong made anedoctal reference to the "Slapping Incident", in an attempt to dispel rumours that his successor had physically attacked a fellow parlimentarian (See external link below).
On July 10, he created a diplomatic uproar with the People's Republic of China by visiting Taiwan. On August 28 2004 in his maiden National Day Rally speech he criticized the Taiwanese leadership and populace of overestimating the support they would receive if they declared Taiwan independence. In response, the Republic of China Foreign Minister, Mark Chen, called Singapore a "Pi-Sai Country", translated literally from Minnan, it means a "Country no bigger than a snot". The Taiwanese Foreign Minister subsequently made a formal apology.
Lee Hsien Loong was widowed in 1982, and remarried Ho Ching in 1985. They have one daughter and three sons.
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