Dennis Tan Lip Fong ( zh, s=陈立峰, p=Chén Lìfēng; born 31 August 1970) is a Singaporean politician and lawyer. A member of the opposition Workers' Party (WP), he has been the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) representing

Hougang SMC The Hougang Single Member Constituency is a single member constituency (SMC) located in the north-eastern area of Singapore. Its current Member of Parliament is Dennis Tan Lip Fong of the Workers' Party (WP). History The constituency was f ...

since 2020.

Education

Tan was educated at Nanyang Primary School,

Raffles Institution Raffles Institution (RI) is an independent educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1823, it is the oldest school in the country. It provides secondary education for boys only from Year 1 to Year 4, and pre-university education for both ...

and

Raffles Junior College The Raffles Junior College (RJC) was a junior college in Singapore offering pre-university education. The college was founded in 1982, following a separation from the pre-university section of Raffles Institution (RI). Raffles Junior College ...

before he went on to read law at the

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

. After graduating with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

(Honours) in 1994, Tan attended the

Bar Professional Training Course The Bar Professional Training Course or BPTC is a postgraduate course which allows law graduates to be named and practise as barristers in England and Wales. The eight institutes that run the BPTC along with the four prestigious Inns of Court a ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and became a

barrister-at-law A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and g ...

at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

. Later, he completed a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

in maritime law at the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

in 2005.

Political career

Tan started as a volunteer with the Workers' Party during the 2011 general election, becoming a member in early 2012. He contested in the 2015 general election in

Fengshan SMC Fengshan Single Member Constituency was a former single Member Constituency within Bedok, Singapore. The constituency was created in 1984 from parts of Bedok, Changi & Kampong Chai Chee constituencies. As the population in Bedok grew, the consti ...

and obtained 42.5% of the polled votes. Following the election, Tan was appointed a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) in the 13th Parliament, serving on the Public Petitions Committee of Parliament. He was previously a

Non-constituency Member of Parliament A Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) is a member of an opposition political party in Singapore who, according to the Constitution and Parliamentary Elections Act, is declared to have been elected a Member of Parliament (MP) without c ...

(NCMP) of the 13th Parliament of Singapore from 16 September 2015 to 22 June 2020. Dennis Tan Lip Fong 5

At the 2020 general election, Tan stood as a candidate in

. During the campaign he complained that some of his campaign posters had been "pulled down" by the ruling PAP from their original height. However, in response, the Elections Department said that this was because the candidates posters had been posted at an incorrect height and could obstruct the sight of motorists. He defeated PAP's Lee Hong Chuang with 61.21% of the vote, retaining the seat for WP. Tan is a member of the Workers’ Party Central Executive Committee where he serves as the Organising Secretary. He has also previously served as Treasurer and Vice-Chair of the party's media team. He was elected to the Workers’ Party Central Executive Committee member as Organising Secretary. Tan was a member of the Estate and Liaison Committee and the Chairman of the Aljuined Hougang Town Council.

Personal life

Tan has practised as a shipping lawyer since 1997. Prior to becoming an advocate and solicitor at the

Supreme Court of Singapore The Supreme Court of Singapore is a set of courts in Singapore, comprising the Court of Appeal of Singapore, Court of Appeal and the High Court of Singapore, High Court. It hears both civil and criminal matters. The Court of Appeal hears both ...

in 1997, Tan was a

at the

. He re-qualified as a solicitor at the Supreme Court of England and Wales in 1999 while working in the English law firm

Stephenson Harwood Stephenson Harwood LLP is a law firm with over 1,100 people worldwide, including more than 190 partners. Headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with eight offices across Asia, Europe and the Middle East. In 2020/21 it achieved total revenues ...

. He was previously a partner in Ang & Partners, a shipping law firm. In 2005, he started the shipping law firm, DennisMathiew, with a partner. He is also a fellow of the

Chartered Institute of Arbitrators The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (abbreviated as CIArb) is a professional organisation representing the interests of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) practitioners. Founded on 1 March 1915, it was granted a royal charter by Queen Eliza ...

in United Kingdom. Tan participates in triathlons, and is fluent in

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...

and Teochew. He is married to Tan Hui Tsing, also a lawyer and a Workers' Party member. Together they have a daughter.

References

External links

Dennis Tan
on Parliament of Singapore * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Dennis Workers' Party (Singapore) politicians Singaporean politicians of Chinese descent Alumni of the University of Nottingham Alumni of the University of Southampton Raffles Institution alumni Raffles Junior College alumni 21st-century Singaporean lawyers Singaporean Non-constituency Members of Parliament Members of the Parliament of Singapore 1970 births Living people