Politics of Singapore service appointments and national security matters. Singaporean politics have been dominated by the People's Action Party (PAP) since the 1959 general election when Lee Kuan Yew became Singapore's first prime minister (Singapore was then a self-governing state within the British Empire). The PAP has been the only ruling party to form the government since then. Singapore joined the Federation of Malaysia in 1963 and gained independence in 1965 after being expelled. Singapore has consistently been rated as the least-corrupt country in Asia and amongst the top ten cleanest in the world by Transparency International. The World Bank's governance indicators have
Monarchies in the Americas British Crown's authority in the British West Indies, and then, after an attempt in 1958 at a federation with other West Indian colonies, continued as a self-governing colony until, on 30 November 1966, the country gained independence from the United Kingdom, retaining the then reigning monarch, Elizabeth II, as monarch of the newly formed monarchy of Barbados. The monarch is represented in the country by the Governor-General of Barbados, Sir Elliott Belgrave. In 1966, Elizabeth's cousin, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, opened the second session of the first parliament of the newly established country, before the Queen herself, along with