Devan Nair C V

Chengara Veetil Devan Nair (1923–2005) was the first ethnic Indian President of Singapore and a founding member of the People's Action Party (PAP). He was also a trade unionist, writer and teacher. He viewed Tamil as a window to Singapore's Indian culture and founded the Tamil Language and Cultural Society, believing that a partnership between the government and society was necessary for Tamil to remain a living language in Singapore.

Born in Malacca, Malaysia, Nair moved to Singapore in his teens. He attended the Rangoon Road Primary School and then obtained his Senior Cambridge Certificate from the Victoria School in 1940. After World War II, there was a shortage of teachers in Singapore. In 1945, he joined the St. Joseph's Institute and later taught at St. Andrew’s School. He actively participated in the activities of the Singapore Teachers' Union since its inception in 1947, and became its secretary in 1949. In 1951-53, Nair was accused of engaging in activities against the British colonial government and was imprisoned for about two years. After his release in April 1953, he became the secretary of the Singapore Factory and Shop Workers Union. Lee Kuan Yew, who was working closely with trade unionists, recognised Nair's leadership qualities and invited him to join the founding members of the PAP in 1954. Nair joined the party and served in the party's Central Executive Committee.

Nair was sent back to prison in 1956 on charges of pro-Communist involvement, but he was released when the PAP won the elections in 1959. After his release, he was appointed as the political secretary to the Minister of Education, but left the post after a year and resumed teaching in 1960. In the same year, he was appointed the first Chairman (1960-64) of the newly founded Adult Education Board. In 1961, he formed the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and became its first general secretary during one of the most challenging periods in Singapore's trade union history. Following Singapore's merger with Malaysia in 1963, he founded the Democratic Action Party in 1964 and served as its first general secretary. He won the Bungsar parliamentary seat and served as a member of the Malaysian Parliament for five years.

Returning to Singapore in 1969, Nair again served as general secretary of NTUC and as president from 1979. During this period, he introduced significant changes that enabled the trade unions to develop a symbiotic relationship with the government, ultimately strengthening the tripartite relationship among the government, unions, and employers. He laid the foundation for a series of worker enterprises: the insurance cooperative INCOME, the taxi cooperative COMFORT, and WELCOME, the supermarket cooperative that later grew into the mega supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice. In 1979, Nair won the Anson parliamentary constituency in a by-election and the 1980 general election on behalf of the People's Action Party. However, he resigned as a member of parliament when he was called to take over as the third President of Singapore in 1981. He resigned from the post in 1985, during his fourth year as President, after being announced in Parliament that he was stepping down to seek treatment for alcoholism by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Denying it, Devan Nair later migrated to Canada and lived there for about 20 years before passing away in 2005.

Devan Nair, though a Malayalee, was a strong advocate for the promotion and preservation of Tamil language and culture in Singapore. In 1979, he founded the Tamil Language & Cultural Society and served as its President, bringing together representatives of the Indian community and appointing non-Tamils in important positions with the dream of making Tamil the common language for all Indians. However, his dream was left unfulfilled after he left the association to become the President of Singapore in 1981. Nair began his career as a teacher and went on to become president. He received the Public Service Star Award (1973) and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Singapore (1976) for his services to the trade union. When he passed away, Nair was praised in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's obituary as one of the “founding fathers who made Singapore what it is today." Devan Nair is also remembered as a 'comrade' President. His seminal thoughts on labour integration and development can be found in several books, including Socialism That Works: The Singapore Way. Avadai Dhanalakshmi, wife of Nair, holds the distinction of being the first Indian ‘First Lady’ of Singapore, as well as the first Indian woman to be a member of parliament. 



For more Information
Koh Tommy, Timothy Auger, Jimmy Yap, and Wei Chian Ng, eds. Singapore: The Encyclopedia. Editions Didier Millet and National Heritage Board, 2006. (Call no. 959.57003 SIN-[HIS])
"Former Presidents." Istana. Accessed 1 August 2025. https://www.istana.gov.sg/The-President/Former-Presidents
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s Condolence Letter to Mr Janadas Devan, 7 December 2005, Singapore Government Press Release. Media Relations Division, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (From National Archives of Singapore)

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The information in this article is valid as of August 2025 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. If you have any feedback on this article, please submit here.