SINGAPORE - Singapore's founding father, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, has died, leaving behind the unlikely nation that he and his colleagues fostered and built over five decades as his lasting legacy.

Mr Lee, who would have turned 92 this September, died at the Singapore General Hospital where he had been warded for severe pneumonia since Feb 5.

A statement from the Prime Minister's Office said: "The Prime Minister is deeply grieved to announce the passing of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the founding Prime Minister of Singapore. Mr Lee passed away peacefully at the Singapore General Hospital today at 3.18 am. He was 91."

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has declared a seven-day period of national mourning. As a mark of respect, the state flags on all government buildings will be flown at half-mast for the mourning period, which starts on Monday, March 23, and ends on Sunday, March 29. 

A private family wake will be held on Monday, March 23, and Tuesday, March 24, at Sri Temasek.

Mr Lee's body will lie in state at Parliament House from Wednesday, March 25, to Saturday, March 28, for the public to pay their last respects. They can do so from 10 am to 8 pm daily during that time.

A state funeral service for Mr Lee will be held at 2pm on Sunday, March 29, at the National University of Singapore's University Cultural Centre.

The service will be attended by the late Mr Lee's family, friends and staff, President Tony Tan Keng Yam, Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament, and Mr Lee's fellow founding members of the ruling People's Action Party.

Senior civil servants, grassroots leaders and Singaporeans from all walks of life will also be attending the service, which will be followed by a private cremation at Mandai Crematorium.

Condolence books and cards will be available in front of the Istana main gate from Monday to Sunday, for those who wish to pen their tributes to the late Mr Lee. Condolence books will also be opened at all overseas missions for overseas Singaporeans and friends.

Mr Lee leaves behind his sons, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, 63, and Mr Lee Hsien Yang, 57, daughter Dr Lee Wei Ling, 60, daughters-in-law Ho Ching, 61, and Lee Suet-Fern, 56, seven grandchildren and two siblings. His wife, Madam Kwa Geok Choo, died in 2010, at the age of 89.

The elder Mr Lee is widely regarded as the man most instrumental in shaping Singapore, from the time he and his People's Action Party colleagues pushed for self-government in the 1950s, to their quest for merger with Malaysia in the early 1960s, and their efforts to secure the country's survival after independence was thrust on it on Aug 9,1965.

He famously wept on that occasion, which he immortalised as "a moment of anguish", not only as he had believed deeply in a unified Malaysia as a multi-racial society, but also as he must have sensed the enormity of the task for this fledgling state to make a living in an inhospitable world.

He would lead a pioneer generation of Singaporeans to overcome a series of daunting challenges, from rehousing squatters in affordable public housing, rebuilding the economy after the sudden pull-out of British forces and the oil shocks of the 1970s, and a major economic recession in the mid 1980s. Through it all, Mr Lee would exhort his people to take heart and "never fear" as they looked forward to a better life.

"This country belongs to all of us. We made this country from nothing, from mud-flats... Over 100 years ago, this was a mud-flat, swamp. Today, this is a modern city. Ten years from now, this will be a metropolis. Never fear!" he thundered at a grassroots event in Sembawang in September 1965.

SINGAPORE - Singapore's founding father, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, has died, leaving behind the unlikely nation that he and his colleagues fostered and built over five decades as his lasting legacy.

Mr Lee, who would have turned 92 this September, died at the Singapore General Hospital where he had been warded for severe pneumonia since Feb 5.

A statement from the Prime Minister's Office said: "The Prime Minister is deeply grieved to announce the passing of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the founding Prime Minister of Singapore. Mr Lee passed away peacefully at the Singapore General Hospital today at 3.18 am. He was 91."

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has declared a seven-day period of national mourning. As a mark of respect, the state flags on all government buildings will be flown at half-mast for the mourning period, which starts on Monday, March 23, and ends on Sunday, March 29. 

A private family wake will be held on Monday, March 23, and Tuesday, March 24, at Sri Temasek.

Mr Lee's body will lie in state at Parliament House from Wednesday, March 25, to Saturday, March 28, for the public to pay their last respects. They can do so from 10 am to 8 pm daily during that time.

A state funeral service for Mr Lee will be held at 2pm on Sunday, March 29, at the National University of Singapore's University Cultural Centre.

The service will be attended by the late Mr Lee's family, friends and staff, President Tony Tan Keng Yam, Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament, and Mr Lee's fellow founding members of the ruling People's Action Party.

Senior civil servants, grassroots leaders and Singaporeans from all walks of life will also be attending the service, which will be followed by a private cremation at Mandai Crematorium.

Condolence books and cards will be available in front of the Istana main gate from Monday to Sunday, for those who wish to pen their tributes to the late Mr Lee. Condolence books will also be opened at all overseas missions for overseas Singaporeans and friends.

Mr Lee leaves behind his sons, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, 63, and Mr Lee Hsien Yang, 57, daughter Dr Lee Wei Ling, 60, daughters-in-law Ho Ching, 61, and Lee Suet-Fern, 56, seven grandchildren and two siblings. His wife, Madam Kwa Geok Choo, died in 2010, at the age of 89.

The elder Mr Lee is widely regarded as the man most instrumental in shaping Singapore, from the time he and his People's Action Party colleagues pushed for self-government in the 1950s, to their quest for merger with Malaysia in the early 1960s, and their efforts to secure the country's survival after independence was thrust on it on Aug 9,1965.

He famously wept on that occasion, which he immortalised as "a moment of anguish", not only as he had believed deeply in a unified Malaysia as a multi-racial society, but also as he must have sensed the enormity of the task for this fledgling state to make a living in an inhospitable world.

He would lead a pioneer generation of Singaporeans to overcome a series of daunting challenges, from rehousing squatters in affordable public housing, rebuilding the economy after the sudden pull-out of British forces and the oil shocks of the 1970s, and a major economic recession in the mid 1980s. Through it all, Mr Lee would exhort his people to take heart and "never fear" as they looked forward to a better life.

"This country belongs to all of us. We made this country from nothing, from mud-flats... Over 100 years ago, this was a mud-flat, swamp. Today, this is a modern city. Ten years from now, this will be a metropolis. Never fear!" he thundered at a grassroots event in Sembawang in September 1965.