Kwa Geok Choo
| Kwa Geok-Choo | |
|---|---|
| 柯玉芝 | |
Kwa Geok-Choo (furthest right) with her husband Lee Kuan Yew (furthest left) in 1985, alongside US President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan
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| Spouse of the Prime Minister of Singapore | |
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In office 5 June 1959 – 28 November 1990 |
|
| Prime Minister | Lee Kuan Yew |
| Preceded by | Office created |
| Succeeded by | Tan Choo Leng |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
21 December 1920 Singapore |
| Died | October 2, 2010 (aged 89) Singapore |
| Political party | People's Action Party (1959-1990) |
| Spouse(s) | Lee Kuan Yew |
| Children |
Lee Hsien Loong Lee Hsien Yang Lee Wei Ling |
| Parents | Kwa Sioe Tie & Wee Yeow Nio |
| Alma mater |
Methodist Girls' School Raffles Institution Raffles College University of Cambridge |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Kwa Geok Choo (Chinese: 柯玉芝; pinyin: Kē Yùzhī; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Kua Gio̍k-tsi; 21 December 1920 – 2 October 2010) was the wife of Lee Kuan Yew, the first Prime Minister of Singapore, and the mother of Lee Hsien Loong, the third and current Prime Minister. She was also a partner in the law firm Lee & Lee. Kwa was a former student at Methodist Girls' School, Raffles Institution, and Raffles College. She read law at Girton College in the University of Cambridge, where she was a Queen's Scholar from Malaya.
Kwa Geok Choo attended Raffles Institution and Raffles College, and according to Lee Kuan Yew's memoirs, by 1939, Kwa and Lee were both top students, often coming first and second in exams. They continued their courtship during the Japanese occupation, and after the war when Lee was in Cambridge, he petitioned for Kwa to be admitted to Girton College, saying she was "a very bright girl, brighter than I was". Kwa married Lee in secret in London in 1947 and then remarried in Singapore on September 30, 1950. They had two sons – Lee Hsien Loong and Lee Hsien Yang – and a daughter – Lee Wei Ling. Her brother, Kwa Soon Bee, served as a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health. She had three sisters: Mrs Cheah, a teacher at Methodist Girls' School; Mrs Yong, the wife of Yong Nyuk Lin; and Mrs Earnest Lau, who was also a teacher at Methodist Girls School.
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