History of the Republic of Singapore

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Part of a series on the
History of Singapore
Early history (pre-1819) Srivijaya 650–1377 Temasek, Long Ya Men, Ban Zu c.14th century Kingdom of Singapura 1299–1398 Malacca Sultanate 1400–1511 Johor Sultanate 1528-1819
British colonial era (1819–1942) Founding 1819–1826 Straits Settlements 1826–1867 Crown colony 1867–1942
Japanese Occupation (1942–1945) Fall of Singapore 1942 Sook Ching 1942 Double Tenth incident 1943
Post-war period (1945–1962) First Legislative Council 1948–1951 Maria Hertogh riots 1950 Second Legislative Council 1951–1955 Anti-National Service Riots 1954
Internal self-government (1955–1963) Hock Lee bus riots 1955 Pulau Senang prison riots 1963
Merger with Malaysia (1963–1965) Singaporean referendum 1962 Operation Coldstore 1963 Race riots in Singapore 1964 MacDonald House bombing 1965
Republic of Singapore (1965–present) ASEAN Declaration (ASEAN) 1967 1969 race riots of Singapore 1969 Singaporean haze crisis 1972–present Laju incident 1974 Operation Spectrum 1987 1997 Asian financial crisis 1997 Embassies attack plot 2001 SARS outbreak 2003 H1N1 pandemic 2009-2010 Little India riot 2013 2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit 2018 Coronavirus pandemic 2020–present
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The history of the Republic of Singapore began when Singapore was expelled from Malaysia and became an independent republic on 9 August 1965.^[1] After the separation, the fledgling nation had to become self-sufficient, however was faced with problems including mass unemployment, housing shortages and lack of land and natural resources such as petroleum. During Lee Kuan Yew's term as prime minister from 1959 to 1990, his government curbed unemployment, raised the standard of living and implemented a large-scale public housing programme. The country's economic infrastructure was developed, racial tension was eliminated and an independent national defence system was established. Singapore evolved from a third world nation to first world nation towards the end of the 20th century.^[2]

In 1990, Goh Chok Tong succeeded Lee as prime minister. During his tenure, the country tackled the economic impacts of the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2003 SARS outbreak, as well as terrorist threats posed by the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) post-9/11 and the Bali bombings. In 2004, Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became the third prime minister.^[3]