Lee Kuan Yew

Abroad, Lee is the model technocrat: Deng Xiaoping studied Singapore's development, and Western leaders from Thatcher to Obama sought his advice. In Singapore he is revered for turning a vulnerable port into one of the richest states on earth, but the domestic picture includes defamation suits that bankrupted opponents, detention without trial under the Internal Security Act and tight control of the press. A family dispute over his house after his death in 2015 opened an unusually public argument about his wishes.