Tan Soo Khoon

Tan Soo Khoon (Chinese: 陈树群; pinyin: Chén Shùqún; born 1 September 1949) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore between 1989 and 2001.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Tan.

Tan Soo Khoon
陈树群
4th Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore
In office 9 January 1989 – 18 October 2001
Deputy	Abdullah Tarmugi Eugene Yap
Preceded by	Yeoh Ghim Seng
Succeeded by	Abdullah Tarmugi
Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore
In office 1985–1989
Preceded by	Hwang Soo Jin
Succeeded by	Lim Boon Heng
Member of the Singapore Parliament for East Coast GRC
In office 3 January 1997 – 20 April 2006
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	PAP held
Majority	1997: N/A (walkover) 2001: N/A (walkover)
Member of the Singapore Parliament for Bedok GRC
In office 21 August 1991 – 16 December 1996
Preceded by	PAP held
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Majority	N/A (walkover)
Member of the Singapore Parliament for Brickworks GRC
In office 3 September 1988 – 14 August 1991
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	PAP held
Majority	13,893 (34.86%)
Member of the Singapore Parliament for Alexandra SMC
In office 23 December 1976 – 17 August 1988
Preceded by	Wong Lin Ken (PAP)
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Majority	1976: 8,472 (51.80%) 1980: N/A (walkover) 1984: 6,119 (33.58%)
Personal details
Born	(1949-09-01) 1 September 1949 (age 75) Colony of Singapore
Political party	People's Action Party
Alma mater	University of Singapore

Education

Tan attended the Anglo-Chinese School before graduating from the University of Singapore in 1971 with an honours degree in business administration. He also served as the general secretary of the students' union of the University of Singapore in 1969.

Political career

Tan started assisting in the Kuo Chuan constituency in 1971, where he learned about the needs of the working-class in Singapore society.

It is his strong desire for social equality and improving the lives of the less fortunate that has made his parliamentary speeches well known amongst his fellow MPs.

Tan took a 13-year break from speech-making when he became speaker. He is remembered for his fairness to both sides of the floor of the house, allowing members of both the governing party and the opposition to speak their minds. He is also remembered for his sense of humor, for his notes to fellow MPs would be signed off "The Watchman", a take on his private business, and his role as speaker.

During his stint as the speaker, he was also president of the AIPO (ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization) for the 1989–1990, 1994–1995 and 1999–2000 sessions. He also served as acting president of Singapore on a number of occasions when the president and deputy prime minister were both out of the country on official business.

During the 1991 general election, Tan left Bricksworks GRC to contest Bedok GRC.^[1]

Tan also supervised the building of the new Parliament House, heading the Committee on the Parliament Complex Development Project. The new building was completed in 1999, and a ceremony was conducted to officiate the "move" from the old Parliament House near the Supreme Court to the new one along the Singapore River.

In April 2002, when he stepped down as speaker after 13 years,^[2] Tan immediately made it known that as a backbencher, with his brutal honesty and openness, he could still "shake the House". Many of his speeches provided witty, pointed, even scathing, remarks about certain government policies and expenditures, such as the extravagance of certain public buildings and the rising cost of public transportation.

In a tribute by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on 15 April 2006, he said of Tan, "He makes very good speeches in Parliament. Sometimes, he draws blood... Sometimes he has offended ministers, but he has spoken his mind."

Personal life

Tan's maternal grandfather is Lee Wee Nam, born 1880, who was one of the prominent Teochew Chinese figures in Singapore. Lee was the founder of Lee Hiok Kee Pte Ltd and chairman of the Four Seas Communications Bank.