{{Family name hatnote|Tan|lang=Chinese}}{{Short description|Singaporean politician (1911–1991)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Tan Chye Cheng | native_name = {{nobold|{{lang|zh-hant|陳才清}}}} | image = Tan Chye Cheng.png | image_size = | caption = Tan in 1951 | order = | office1 = Member of the [[Legislative Council of Singapore|Legislative Council]] for [[Municipal South-West Constituency]] | alongside1 = [[Nazir Ahmad Mallal]] | term_start1 = 1 April 1948 | term_end1 = 16 February 1951 | predecessor1 = ''Constituency established'' | successor1 = ''Constituency abolished'' | monarch = | governor1 = [[Franklin Gimson]] | majority1 = 1948: 4,125 (42.29%) | constituency = | majority = | office2 = Member of the [[Legislative Council of Singapore|Legislative Council]] for [[Tanglin Single Member Constituency|Tanglin Constituency]] | term_start2 = 17 April 1951 | term_end2 = 5 February 1955 | predecessor2 = ''Constituency established'' | governor2 = Franklin Gimson<br />[[John Nicoll (colonial administrator)|John Nicoll]] | successor2 = [[John Ede]] | majority2 = 1951: 1,416 (80.14%) | birth_date = 1911 | birth_place = [[Singapore in the Straits Settlements|Singapore]], [[Straits Settlements]] | death_date = 6 March 1991 (age 80) | death_place = Singapore | party = [[Progressive Party (Singapore)|Progressive Party]] | spouse = | children = [[Margaret Leng Tan]] (daughter) }}

'''Tan Chye Cheng''' ({{zh|s=陈才清|zh|t=陳才清|p=Chén Cái Qīng|first=t}}; 1911 – 6 March 1991), also known as '''C. C. Tan''', was a Singaporean lawyer and politician.

==Biography== Born in Singapore, Tan was the only child of Tan Guan Chua, a member of the Chinese Advisory Board and the [[Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry|Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce]] committee.<ref name="BSG">[http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/printheritage/image.aspx?id=1af29250-3fc0-486d-9d88-64cd8859ddb7 Portrait of Mr. C.C. Tan, Member of Singapore Legislative Council] BooksSG</ref><ref name=LeG>Leo Suryadinata (2012) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=v9QEBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA1065 Southeast Asian Personalities of Chinese Descent: A Biographical Dictionary, Volume I & II]'', Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, p1065</ref> He was educated at the [[St. Joseph's Institution, Singapore|St. Joseph's Institution]] school, leaving in 1928. He won a scholarship to attend [[St Joseph's Academy, Blackheath|St Joseph's Academy]] in [[London]], where he became friends with [[Ong Hock Thye]].<ref name=LeG/>

Tan was admitted to the [[Middle Temple]] in 1928, passing his final exam in 1931. He had to wait until turning 21 in 1932 before being called to the [[Bar (law)|Bar]]. He returned to Singapore and was called to the Bar in 1933. He initially worked at Aubrey Davies & Company, later moving to Rodyk & Davidson, where he remained until the start of [[World War II]].<ref name="LeG" /> In 1939 Tan married Joyce Lim Chin Lien in Singapore. They moved to [[India]] during World War II, returning to the island after the end of the war.<ref name="LeG" /> His daughter, [[Margaret Leng Tan]], became a musician.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Margaret Leng Tan |url=https://www.swhf.sg/profiles/margaret-leng-tan/ |access-date=27 May 2022 |website=Singapore Women's Hall of Fame |language=en-GB}}</ref>

After returning from India, Tan became involved in politics. He was appointed to the Advisory Council in 1946, serving until the following year,<ref name="BSG" /> when he was amongst the founders of the [[Progressive Party (Singapore)|Progressive Party]] in August 1947 and, despite not being a good public speaker,<ref name="LeG" /> became its first president. In the first [[1948 Singaporean general election|general elections]] in 1948, Tan was elected in the Municipal South-West constituency with 42% of the vote, beating Nazir Ahmad Mallal by 69 votes.<ref>[https://sg-elections.com/general-election/1948/municipal-southwest.html Legislative Council General Election 1948: Municipal South-West] Singapore Elections</ref> The elections saw the PP win three of the six elected seats.

In the [[1951 Singaporean general election|1951 elections]] Tan ran in the [[Tanglin Single Member Constituency|Tanglin constituency]], receiving 80% of the vote against his [[Labour Party (Singapore)|Labour Party]] rival, with the PP winning six of the nine elected seats. In 1954 he was part of the nine-man panel led by [[George William Rendel]] that reviewed the territory's constitution,<ref name="LeG" /> leading to the promulgation of a new one. However, Tan lost his seat in the [[1955 Singaporean general election|1955 elections]]; he ran in the [[Cairnhill Single Member Constituency|Cairnhill constituency]] against [[Labour Front]] leader [[David Marshall (Singaporean politician)|David Marshall]], with Marshall receiving 48% of the vote to Tan's 36%.<ref>[https://sg-elections.com/general-election/1955/cairnhill.html Legislative Assembly General Election 1955: Cairnhill] Singapore Elections</ref> The PP won only four of the 25 seats, with the Labour Front winning 10. As a result, Marshall became the island's first [[Chief Minister of Singapore|Chief Minister]].

Tan had been one of the founders of the Tan, Rajah & Cheah law firm in 1947,<ref name="BSG" /> and later became president of the Bar Committee and first president of the [[Law Society of Singapore|Law Society]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Auto |first=Hermes |date=10 November 2017 |title=Law Society confers lifetime achievement award on 'friend of the underdog' {{!}} The Straits Times |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/law-society-confers-lifetime-achievement-award-on-friend-of-the-underdog |access-date=27 May 2022 |website=www.straitstimes.com |language=en}}</ref> He served as president of the [[Singapore National Olympic Council|Singapore Olympic Sports Council]] from 1951 until 1962, and as chairman of ''[[The Straits Times]]'' press between 1974 and 1982.<ref name="HDS">Justin Corfield (2010) ''Historical Dictionary of Singapore'', Scarecrow Press, p260</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Portrait of Mr. C.C. Tan, Member of Singapore Legislative Council - BookSG - National Library Board, Singapore |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/printheritage/image.aspx?id=1af29250-3fc0-486d-9d88-64cd8859ddb7 |access-date=27 May 2022 |website=eresources.nlb.gov.sg}}</ref>

He died of heart failure at age 80 on 6 March 1991.<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 March 1991 |title=Lawyer C.C. Tan dies of heart failure |pages=23 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

==Legacy== In 2003 the Law Society created the C.C. Tan award, which is awarded to a member exemplifying the virtues of "honesty, fair play and personal integrity".<ref name=":0" />

==References== {{reflist}}

[[Category:1911 births]] [[Category:20th-century Singaporean lawyers]] [[Category:Progressive Party (Singapore) politicians]] [[Category:Members of the Legislative Council of Singapore]] [[Category:Singaporean politicians of Chinese descent]] [[Category:Saint Joseph's Institution, Singapore alumni]] [[Category:1991 deaths]] [[Category:Deaths from congestive heart failure]]