--- title: Photos from Singapore 1959 Election: New Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew description: LIFE captured the energy in the crowd on the day Lee Kuan Yew became Singapore's first prime minister. canonical: https://time.com/3749975/lee-kuan-yew/ author: Eliza Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-22T20:47:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:59.643Z og:title: Photos: When Lee Kuan Yew Became Singapore’s Prime Minister og:description: LIFE recalls the country's longest-serving modern leader beginning his tenure. og:url: https://time.com/3749975/lee-kuan-yew/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt501e0eb0d88c7cb8/6987843435ba6f4b97c07a0b/150318-lee-kuan-yew-12.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Lee Kuan Yew, 1959 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Photos: When Lee Kuan Yew Became Singapore’s Prime Minister twitter:description: LIFE recalls the country's longest-serving modern leader beginning his tenure. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt501e0eb0d88c7cb8/6987843435ba6f4b97c07a0b/150318-lee-kuan-yew-12.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See Photos From Lee Kuan Yew's Election as Singapore’s First Prime Minister  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Mar 22, 2015 8:47 PM UTC  Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore, 1959. Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore, 1959.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Mar 22, 2015 8:47 PM UTC When the People’s Action Party won the 1959 general election in Singapore, making Lee Kuan Yew the country’s first prime minister, LIFE was there to capture the energy in the elated crowd. And when Singapore was weeks away from gaining independence after its short-lived union with Malaysia, an eventful six years later, LIFE’s Hong Kong bureau chief [sat down with Lee](https://books.google.com/books?id=P1MEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA43&dq=Lee+Kuan+Yew&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7dIJVay-NoqXNpOugTg&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Lee%20Kuan%20Yew&f=false) to hear his thoughts on the future of his country. Lee, whom LIFE described as having “a Spartan, no-nonsense — and above all — incorruptible dedication” to his role, repeatedly emphasized racial unity as the key to a successful Singapore. “We must forge a multiracial society out of our Indians and Chinese and Malays or we’re going to have one group dominating the other,” he said, “or were going to have segregation and partition which is fraught with danger for all of south Asia.” Half a century later, the coexistence Lee espoused is a defining feature of Singapore, a country in which nearly 40% of the population is foreign-born. Emphasizing the importance of allegiance to Singapore above residents’ countries of origin, Lee recognized multiple national languages and religious holidays and prioritized residential integration. But declaring loyalty to Singapore was not tantamount to forswearing one’s ethnic identity. “I’m very proud of the fact that my ancestors are Chinese,” he said. “But our future lies in being part of Southeast Asia.” _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at_ [_@LizabethRonk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk)_._  Lee Kuan Yew, 1959. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Singapore elections, 1959. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Lee Kuan Yew waits in line to vote, 1959. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Singaporeans cast their votes, 1959. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Lee Kuan Yew being congratulated by the crowd, Singapore, 1959. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Lee Kuan Yew giving a speech, Singapore, 1959. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Singapore elections, 1959. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Lee Kuan Yew amongst the cheering crowd, Singapore, 1959. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Crowd gathering around Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore, 1959. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Lee Kuan Yew being congratulated by the crowd, Singapore, 1959. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Crowds cheering at election results, Singapore, 1959. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore, 1959. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3749975/lee-kuan-yew/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3749975/lee-kuan-yew/"},"headline":"See Photos From Lee Kuan Yew's Election as Singapore’s First Prime Minister","datePublished":"2015-03-22T20:47:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:04:59.643Z","description":"Looking back to the day the country's longest-serving modern leader began his tenure","url":"https://time.com/3749975/lee-kuan-yew/","keywords":["politics","elections","photography","Singapore","John Dominis","1959"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt501e0eb0d88c7cb8/6987843435ba6f4b97c07a0b/150318-lee-kuan-yew-12.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliza Berman","jobTitle":"Berman is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt501e0eb0d88c7cb8/6987843435ba6f4b97c07a0b/150318-lee-kuan-yew-12.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Lee Kuan Yew, 1959","caption":"Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore, 1959.","creditText":"John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/politics/","name":"politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3749975/lee-kuan-yew/","name":"See Photos From Lee Kuan Yew's Election as Singapore’s First Prime Minister"}}]}] ```