Kwa Geok Choo

Kwa was the daughter of Kwa Siew Tee, former general manager of Oversea-Chinese Bank and Singapore Municipal Commissioner who was a Tong'anese on his paternal side who also had a Teochew mother, and Wee Yew Neo, Geok Choo's Teochew mother was from Shantou. Kwa attended the Methodist Girls' School, Raffles Institution and Raffles College, and was a Queen's Scholar of Malaya. According to Lee Kuan Yew's memoirs, by 1939, Kwa and Lee were both top students in Raffles, often coming first and second in exams.

They continued their courtship during the Japanese occupation when their studies were disrupted. After the war, Kwa resumed her studies at Raffles College in 1946 while Lee left Singapore to pursue his law degree at the University of Cambridge. Kwa was admitted to Girton College in 1947, after Lee petitioned for her, saying she was "a very bright girl, brighter than I was". She graduated with first-class honours in 1949 and was called to the bar in the subsequent year. She returned to Singapore and was admitted to the Colony Bar in 1951. Kwa was one of the few female lawyers of the country then, practising at Laycock & Ong.

On 1 September 1955, Kwa founded law firm Lee & Lee with Lee Kuan Yew and Dennis Lee Kim Yew. Kwa practised conveyancing and legal draftsmanship. She retired from partnership in 1987 but stayed on as a consultant thereafter.

Kwa was a founding member of the People's Action Party (PAP) and helped to draft the PAP Constitution. She made her first political speech on Radio Malaya on PAP's policy on women before the 1959 elections, advocating equal pay for women and for monogamous marriages. She mostly stayed out of the political limelight throughout her husband's career.

When Singapore separated from the Malaysian Federation, Kwa drafted the clauses in the Separation Agreement for the guarantee of the water agreements between the Malaysian state of Johor and Singapore. This guarantee was done via an amendment to the Federal Constitution of Malaysia.

Kwa was also a pioneer advocate of women's rights in Singapore. She spoke on family planning, and supported legal protection for women. Together with other women's activists such as Chan Choy Siong, Kwa's suggestions were included into the landmark 1961 Women's Charter, which sought to improve and protect the legal rights of women.

Kwa married Lee in secret in London in 1947 and then remarried in Singapore on 30 September 1950. They had two sons – Lee Hsien Loong and Lee Hsien Yang – and a daughter – Lee Wei Ling. Her brother, Kwa Soon Bee, served as a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, and Kwa Soon Chuan, was a civil servant who served as a chairman of the Central Provident Fund Board. She had three sisters: Mrs Cheah, a teacher at Methodist Girls' School; Mrs Yong, the wife of Yong Nyuk Lin; and Mrs Earnest Lau, who was also a teacher at Methodist Girls School.

During Lee's years as Prime Minister and Senior Minister, Kwa was frequently seen with her husband, especially on diplomatic trips and meetings with other foreign ministers. After suffering two strokes in May and June 2008, she was bedridden and developed locked-in syndrome, being unable to speak, but remained conscious and able to understand speech.

Death

Kwa died in her sleep at home, following a long illness on 2 October 2010 at around 05:40 Singapore Standard Time. She was given a state funeral and cremated at Mandai Crematorium on 7 October 2010.