As the founding father of the independent city-state of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew transformed a third-world economy to one of the strongest in the world. He served as prime minister from 1959 to 1990, and his uninterrupted reign facilitated fulfillment of his vision. From the beginning, Lee recognized that Singapore needed a strong economy in order to survive as an independent country, and he launched a program to industrialize Singapore and transform in into a major exporter of finished goods. Within 30 years, Lee fulfilled his goal of industrializing, urbanizing, and educating his country.