Ling Siew May
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Ling Siew May | |
|---|---|
| 林秀梅 | |
.jpg) Ling in 1951 | |
| First Lady of Singapore | |
| In office 2 September 1993 – 30 July 1999 | |
| President | Ong Teng Cheong |
| Preceded by | Koh Sok Hiong |
| Succeeded by | Urmila Nandey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1937 |
| Died | 30 July 1999 (aged 61–62) National University Hospital, Singapore |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Adelaide |
Ling Siew May (Chinese: 林秀梅; 1937 – 30 July 1999) was a Chinese-born Singaporean architect who was the First Lady of Singapore when her husband, Ong Teng Cheong, served as president from 1993 to 1999. She founded ONG & ONG, an architecture and urban planning firm, with her husband in 1972.
Born in Shanghai, she moved to Singapore under British rule before the Japanese-occupied Singapore, separating her from her father and leaving her in an orphanage back in Shanghai. Ling moved back to Singapore in 1948 after reuniting with her father and studied at Nanyang Girls' High School and the University of Adelaide, becoming the first Asian woman to graduate from the university with a Bachelor in Architecture.
During her time as First Lady, she continued working as an architect at Ong & Ong, becoming the first working spouse. She died on 30 July 1999, during Ong's presidency, the first time the First Lady had died during their spouse's presidency. Her death was reportedly the reason why Ong did not seek re-election less than a month later.
Ling was born in 1937 in Shanghai, Republic of China,[1] the fourth of six children. She moved to the Straits Settlements (present-day Singapore) when she was six as her father was posted there while he worked at a British firm. She was later sent to an orphanage in Shanghai after her father and her family were separated during the Japanese occupation of Singapore. In 1948, she returned to Singapore after her father had located them.[2]
She studied at Nanyang Girls' High School.[3] She later studied at the University of Adelaide studying architecture, which is where she met her future husband Ong Teng Cheong.[4] In 1963, Ling became the first Asian woman to graduate from the University of Adelaide with a Bachelor in Architecture. She later married Ong in the same year.[2]