Chiam See Tong

Chiam See Tong (Chinese: 詹时中; pinyin: Zhān Shízhōng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chiam Sî-tiong; born 12 March 1935) is a Singaporean retired politician and lawyer who served as the Secretary-General of Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) between 1980 and 1993 and Secretary-General of Singapore People's Party (SPP) between 2011 and 2019 and the chairman of Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) between 2001 and 2011. He was the de facto Leader of the Opposition when he became the Member of Parliament (MP) for Potong Pasir Single Member Constituency (SMC) and served between 1984 and 2011.

A lawyer by profession, Chiam contested in the 1976 general election and 1979 by-elections as an independent candidate in Cairnhill SMC and Potong Pasir SMC but lost both. He founded, and became the secretary-general of, the SDP in 1980, contesting in the 1980 general election only to be defeated again. Chiam was elected on his fourth attempt during the 1984 general election, winning Potong Pasir SMC against People's Action Party candidate Mah Bow Tan. He joined J. B. Jeyaretnam from the Workers' Party as one of only two opposition members of parliament at the time. After Jeyaretnam was removed from his seat in 1986, Chiam became the sixth de facto Leader of the Opposition and the only opposition MP at the time. He continued his de facto leadership after the 1991 general election, where he led his party into three SMCs.

In 1993, after a falling-out with the SDP's central executive committee, Chiam resigned his title of secretary-general, in so doing losing his leadership of the opposition. Chiam later joined and successfully ran as a member of the Singapore People's Party, regaining his de facto position in 1997. In 2001, Chiam convinced three other opposition parties—National Solidarity Party, Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura and Singapore Justice Party—to join the SPP in forming the Singapore Democratic Alliance, and served as SDA's chairman between 2001 and 2011. He withdrew the SPP from the SDA in the lead up to the 2011 general election, leading the SPP in a contest in Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC, but eventually losing to the PAP team.

Chiam retired after 39 years in politics at the age of 80 prior to the 2015 general election, citing health reasons. He was the longest-serving opposition MP until surpassed by Low Thia Kiang in 2018. He remains the longest-serving de facto Leader of the Opposition.