Chiam See Tong

Chiam See Tong
Chiam speaking at an election rally in 2006
Member of Parliament for Potong Pasir SMC
In office 22 December 1984 – 19 April 2011
Preceded by	Howe Yoon Chong
Succeeded by	Sitoh Yih Pin
Majority	1,718 (11.6%)
Secretary-General of the Singapore People's Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 1993
Prime Minister	Goh Chok Tong Lee Hsien Loong
Chairman	Lina Chiam (Lina Loh Woon Lee)
Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party
In office 1980–1993
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Chee Soon Juan
Personal details
Born	(1935-03-12) 12 March 1935 (age 82)
Nationality	Singaporean
Spouse(s)	Lina Chiam (Lina Loh Woon Lee)
Religion	Presbyterianism

Chiam See Tong (simplified Chinese: 詹时中; traditional Chinese: 詹時中; pinyin: Zhān Shí Zhōng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chiam Sî-tiong; born 12 March 1935) is a Singaporean politician and lawyer. He is Singapore's longest-serving Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) in a Single Member Constituency (SMC), having represented the constituency of Potong Pasir in Parliament from 1984 to 2011.

Chiam was founding leader of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) up to December 1996, when he left the party to join the Singapore People's Party (SPP) prior to the 1997 general election. He subsequently spearheaded the formation of the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA), and was its chairman and de facto opposition leader from 2001 to 2011. However, in March 2011 he announced that he was withdrawing the SPP from the SDA grouping, and would contest the next general election under the SPP banner. At the 2011 general election, Chiam decided not to seek re-election in his Potong Pasir constituency and instead stood as a member of the SPP's team in the Bishan-Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency. However the SPP was defeated by the PAP's team in Bishan-Toa Payoh. His wife Lina Chiam narrowly lost the election in Potong Pasir and accepted a seat as a Non Constituency Member of Parliament.