Tan Choo Leng () is a Singaporean lawyer and the wife of former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Goh Chok Tong Goh Chok Tong (; born 20 May 1941) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1990 and 2004, and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party between 1992 and 2004. He was the Parliament of Singapore, ...

Early life and career

Tan graduated from the University of Singapore (now the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...

) with

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 Chi ...

degree. She is currently an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

and

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

for M/s Wong Partnership.

Controversy

She has given her support to many charities, and was best known for being a patron of the

National Kidney Foundation The National Kidney Foundation, Inc. (NKF) is a voluntary health organization in the United States, headquartered in New York City, with over 30 local offices across the country. Its mission is to prevent kidney and urinary tract diseases, impr ...

(NKF). During the 2005 NKF scandal, she commented that the annual salary of S$600,000 drawn by NKF's chief executive officer

T. T. Durai Thambirajah Tharmadurai (born 22 April 1948), better known as T. T. Durai, is a Singaporean who formerly served as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the non-profit health organisation National Kidney Foundation Singapore (NKF). The central figu ...

was considered "peanuts" as compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars managed by the NKF. Her remark was subsequently met with negative reactions from many Singaporeans. Tan stepped down as a patron after Durai and the NKF's board of directors resigned under public pressure on 14 July 2005. Prime Minister

later told the press that his wife regretted making that comment.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Singaporean women lawyers Spouses of prime ministers of Singapore National University of Singapore alumni Singaporean people of Chinese descent 20th-century Singaporean lawyers 20th-century women lawyers 21st-century Singaporean lawyers 21st-century women lawyers {{Singapore-politician-stub