Dennis Tan


Dennis Tan Lip Fong is a Singaporean politician and lawyer. A member of the opposition Worker's Party, he has served as the Member of Parliament for Hougang SMC since 10 July 2020. He was also elected as a Non-constituency Member of Parliament of the 13th Parliament of Singapore from 16 September 2015 to 22 June 2020.

Early life

Tan was educated at Nanyang Primary, Raffles Institution and Raffles Junior College, before going on to read law at the University of Nottingham. After graduating with a Bachelor of Laws in 1994, Tan went to bar school in London. He later obtained a Masters in Maritime Law at the University of Southampton in 2005.

Political career

Tan started as a volunteer with the Workers' Party during the 2011 general election, becoming a member in early 2012. He contested in the 2015 general election in Fengshan SMC and obtained 42.5% of the polled votes. Following the election, Tan was appointed a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament in the 13th Parliament, serving on the Public Petitions Committee of Parliament.
At the 2020 general election, Tan stood as a candidate in Hougang SMC. He defeated PAP's Lee Hong Chuang with 61.21% of the vote, retaining the seat for WP.
Tan is a member of the Workers’ Party Central Executive Committee where he serves as the Organising Secretary. He has also previously served as Treasurer and Vice-Chair of the party's media team.

Personal life

Tan has practised as a shipping lawyer since 1997. Prior to becoming an advocate and solicitor at the Supreme Court of Singapore in 1997, Tan was a barrister-at-law at London's Middle Temple. He re-qualified as a solicitor at the Supreme Court of England and Wales in 1999 while working in the English law firm Stephenson Harwood. He was previously a partner in Ang & Partners, a shipping law firm. In 2005, he started the shipping law firm, DennisMathiew, with a partner. He is also a fellow of the
Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in United Kingdom.
Tan participates in triathlons, and is fluent in Hokkien and Teochew. He is married to Tan Hui Tsing, also a lawyer and a WP member. Together they have a daughter.