Tan Boon Teik | |
|---|---|
| 陈文德 | |
 | |
| 2nd Attorney-General of Singapore | |
| In office 1 February 1967 – 30 April 1992 Acting: 1 February 1967 – 31 December 1968 | |
| Preceded by | Ahmad Mohamed Ibrahim[1] |
| Succeeded by | Chan Sek Keong |
| Solicitor-General of Singapore | |
| In office 1 September 1963 – 31 January 1967 | |
| Preceded by | T. Kulasekaram |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 January 1929 Penang, Straits Settlements |
| Died | 10 March 2012 (aged 83) Singapore |
| Nationality | Singaporean |
| Spouse | Tan Sook Yee |
| Alma mater | University College London (LLB, LLM) |
| Tan Boon Teik | |||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 陈文德 | ||||||
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Tan Boon Teik SC DUBC (/ˌtɑːn ˌbʊn ˈteɪk/ tahn-buun-TAYK;[2] 17 January 1929 – 10 March 2012) was a Singaporean judge who served as the second attorney-general of Singapore between 1969 and 1992. At the age of 39, Tan was the youngest person to be appointed as attorney-general, and was the longest-serving attorney-general after the Independence of Singapore, after 25 years in office.
Tan attended University College London before he was called to the Bar in 1952 as a barrister-at-law of England and Wales by Middle Temple, and became an advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court of the Federation of Malaya in 1954.
He joined the Singapore Legal Service in 1955 as a police court magistrate. He was subsequently appointed Deputy Registrar and Sheriff of the High Court in 1956, Director of the Legal Aid Bureau in 1959, and Senior Crown Counsel in 1963. He also taught part-time at the University of Singapore when it was started in 1956.
He became Solicitor-General in 1963, Acting Attorney-General in 1967, and Attorney-General in 1969. During his tenure, he prepared many legal opinions on important constitutional and administrative law issues, and was also the Government's lead counsel in a number of notable cases. The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) published the first reprint of the Constitution in 1980, and revised editions of Singapore statutes in 1970 and 1985. In 1990, it launched LawNet, a computer database then containing the full text of Singapore legislation. Tan was involved in the establishment of the Singapore Academy of Law, and was the first chairman of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, a post he held between 1991 and 1999.
Tan was conferred the Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang (Distinguished Service Order) in 1978. He was appointed Senior Counsel in 1989, and made an Officer of the French Legion of Honour in 1998.
Tan suffered from Parkinson's disease towards the end of his life. Following internal bleeding, he died on 10 March 2012.
- ^ Close-up of Mr. Tan Boon Teik, former Attorney-General of Singapore, BookSG, National Library Board, archived from the original on 25 May 2024, retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ^ Wei Yulin; Li Huixin (12 March 2012), "前总检察长陈文德逝世 [Former Public Prosecutor Tan Boon Teik dies]", Lianhe Zaobao, p. 3.