Singapore's founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew has died in hospital at the age of 91 after suffering from severe pneumonia.Mr Lee was admitted to Singapore General Hospital on February and was later placed on life support.
A statement issued by his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, confirmed that the former leader had died.
"Mr Lee passed away peacefully at the Singapore General Hospital today at 3.18 am," the statement said.
"Arrangements for the public to pay respects and for the funeral proceedings will be announced later."
Lee was a Cambridge-educated lawyer and is widely credited with building Singapore into one of the world's wealthiest nations.
His political career spanned 30 years as premier and 20 years as a senior government adviser.
He oversaw the country's rise from a British tropical outpost to a global trade and financial centre.
Lee was the co-founder of the People's Action Party (PAP), which has ruled Singapore since 1959, and led the country when it was separated from Malaysia in 1965.
Although he could have remained in office longer, he stepped aside and handed over leadership of the ruling party to a younger generation in 1990.
He remained an influential behind-the-scenes figure for many more years until his health deteriorated.
During his lengthy rule, Mr Lee faced criticism for using tough tactics to consolidate power.
He jailed political rivals without trial for decades and brought defamation lawsuits against journalists and opposition politicians.
But Mr Lee insisted that strict limits on free speech and public protest were necessary to maintain stability in Singapore.
President Barack Obama once described Mr Lee "one of the legendary figures of Asia in the 20th and 21st centuries".
"He is somebody who helped trigger the Asian economic miracle," Mr Obama said after meeting Lee at the White House in October 2009.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was "deeply saddened" by Mr Lee's death.
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