Avadai Dhanam Lakshimi

Avadai Dhanam Lakshimi (1925 – 18 April 2005) was a Singaporean former politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) representing Moulmein SMC from 1963 to 1968 and the First Lady of Singapore when her husband, Devan Nair, served as president of Singapore from 1981 to 1985.

Dhanam became the first female MP of Indian ethnicity, when she was elected as the MP for Moulmein SMC in 1963. In her role as an MP she was known for her public health advocacy.

Serving in the role for 5 years, she retired in 1968, continuing to serve in the public service. She married Devan Nair in August 1953, who later became the President of Singapore.

Early life Born in 1925, Dhanam was a fourth-generation Singaporean Indian of Tamil descent with ancestry from Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India as the daughter of a contractor, both her parents died before she was 11. She was brought up by her mother's brother and her maternal grandmother along with her five siblings. Her grandmother later died during the Japanese Occupation. During her tenure, she was known for her advocacy in Singapore's Public Health Service, launching an X-Ray campaign in her constituency, in order to combat tuberculosis. She stepped down from Parliament in 1968.

Public life After her retirement from the Public Office, Dhanam continued to keep a public profile, representing her husband at public events.

First Lady of Singapore After her husband was elected as president in 1981, she became the 3rd First Lady of Singapore, continuing to advocate for health related causes, supporting organisations such as the Singapore Red Cross Society.

She served in this position until her husband's unexpected resignation in 1985.

Later life After Devan Nair's resignation, Dhanam and her husband migrated first to the United States in 1988 where they settled in Gaithersburg, Maryland. They later moved to Bloomington, Indiana. The couple later moved to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, where they lived for the rest of their lives. She died on 18 April 2005, in Hamilton, from pneumonia, 8 months before her husband.