Introduction
Lucien Wong Yuen Kuai (Chinese: 黄鲁胜; pinyin: Huáng Lǔ Shèng; born 1953), SC, is the incumbent Attorney-General of the Republic of Singapore and a former veteran corporate lawyer. Wong was the former chairman of Allen & Gledhill, Singapore International Arbitration Centre and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. He was previously on the board of directors of Singapore Press Holdings, Singapore Technologies Engineering, Hap Seng Plantations and several other business entities.
Education
Wong graduated from the University of Singapore (now the National University of Singapore) with a Bachelor of Laws in 1978. He topped his final-year class.
Career
Private practice
Wong was called to the Singapore Bar in 1979. He started as a legal assistant in Drew & Napier in 1980, becoming a partner in 1982. He then moved to Allen & Gledhill, where he was a partner from 1987 to 1998, before being appointed managing partner from 1998 to 2012, then chairman and senior partner. As a corporate lawyer for over three decades, he specialised in banking, corporate and financial services law. He also sat on law review committees, reviewing amendments to Singaporean company and securities law. As the personal lawyer of Lee Hsien Loong, the Prime Minister of Singapore, Wong represented him during the dispute with his siblings over Lee Kuan Yew's estate.
Public service
On 25 November 2016, the Prime Minister's Office announced Wong's appointment as the Attorney-General.Wong is Singapore's first Attorney-General without prior experience on the Bench nor in the Attorney-General's Chambers, although Law Society president Thio Shen Yi described him as a "well-known corporate visionary" and Senior Counsel Lok Vi Ming said he had "few equals in the legal profession". Parliament also debated his age, as he would be 63 when appointed; however, Law Minister K Shanmugam said that the appointment, being for a specified term, was "in accordance with Article 35 of the Constitution".
As a "transitional arrangement", Wong was appointed on 19 December 2016 as a Deputy Attorney-General and a Senior Counsel. On 14 January 2017, he commenced his three-year term as Singapore's ninth Attorney-General, succeeding V K Rajah.
Controversy
The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), an opposition political party in Singapore, has written to Tony Tan, the President of Singapore, urging him to revoke Wong's position as the Attorney General as he had refused to look into Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang's allegations that Lee Hsien Loong, the Prime Minister of Singapore, had abused his powers and made false statements in Parliament. The SDP said that the association of Wong with Lee Hsien Loong prior to his becoming the Attorney-General has created an acute conflict of interest which cannot be ignored and any further delay or refusal to act will cause even greater erosion of confidence in Singapore's public institutions.
Professional appointments
Prior to his appointment as Attorney-General, Wong was the chairman of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. He was also a member of the Singapore Business Federation's board of trustees and director of Broadcom Limited, Singapore Health Services, Cerebos Pacific Limited, Singapore Technologies Engineering, Temasek Holdings, Singapore Press Holdings, Hap Seng Plantations, Singapore Airlines, Monetary Authority of Singapore, National University of Singapore, Singapore Press Holdings, Capitaland and other companies.
Wong is currently a member of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights and was the former chairman of the Singapore Management University School of Law's advisory board.
Family
Wong is married.