K. Shanmugam

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In this Indian name, the name Kasiviswanathan is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Shanmugam.
The Honourable

Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam
காசிவிஸ்வநாதன் சண்முகம்
K Shanmugam crop.jpg
Shanmugam in 2013
Minister for Home Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 October 2015
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded byTeo Chee Hean
ConstituencyNee Soon GRC
In office
1 November 2010 – 20 May 2011
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded byWong Kan Seng
Succeeded byTeo Chee Hean
Minister for Law
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 May 2008
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded byS. Jayakumar
ConstituencyNee Soon GRC
Member of the Singapore Parliament
for Nee Soon GRC
(Chong Pang)
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 May 2011
Majority33,149 (23.80%)
Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office
21 May 2011 – 30 September 2015
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded byGeorge Yeo
Succeeded byVivian Balakrishnan
Member of the Singapore Parliament
for Sembawang GRC
(Chong Pang)
In office
3 September 1988 – 18 April 2011
Personal details
Born
Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam

(1959-03-26) 26 March 1959 (age 62)
Singapore
Political partyPeople's Action Party
Spouse(s)
Seetha Subbiah
​
(m. 2008)​
; Jothie Rajah (divorced)
Children2 (from prev. marriage)[1]
Alma materNational University of Singapore

Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam SC (born 26 March 1959), better known as K. Shanmugam, is a Singaporean politician and lawyer. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he currently serves as Minister for Law and Minister for Home Affairs. Within the PAP, he holds the position of the party's Central Executive Committee Treasurer.

Shanmugam has been the Minister for Law since May 2008 when he joined the Cabinet. During his tenure as Minister for Law, he has concurrently held the following portfolios: (1) Second Minister for Home Affairs (May 2008 – October 2010); (2) Minister for Home Affairs (October 2010 – May 2011, and since September 2015); and (3) Minister for Foreign Affairs (May 2011 – September 2015).[2] He has also served as a Member of Parliament (MP) representing Sembawang Group Representation Constituency (GRC) from 3 September 1988 to 19 April 2011, and Nee Soon GRC since 7 May 2011, serving the Chong Pang ward in both constituencies. In the 2020 General Election, he led the PAP team contesting Nee Soon GRC.

In his career as a lawyer before entering politics, Shanmugam made a name for himself in litigation, arbitration and insolvency cases. In 1998, at the age of 38, he became one of the youngest lawyers in Singapore to be appointed Senior Counsel (SC) by the Supreme Court. Along with Davinder Singh, he was known as one of the "twin titans of litigation" and a prominent figure in Singapore's legal circles.[3][4] Shanmugam has also received praise for being one of the top cross-examiners in Singapore and has acted for all three Prime Ministers of Singapore in lawsuits.[5]

Kurt Campbell, former United States Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, once spoke of Shanmugam: "The quality of his mind is impressive. In meetings with him, he has legal framing, approaches problems in a deeply systemic way, is unsentimental about the world, clear-eyed and very strategic... He can be hard-headed about what is best for Singapore, but he is always upfront and clear."[6][7]

Education[]

Shanmugam was educated in Raffles Institution from 1972 to 1977. He went on to read law at the National University of Singapore's Faculty of Law and graduated in 1984.

During his time in law school, Shanmugam earned several awards, book prizes and scholarships for being the top student from his first to third years and for academic merit (1982–1983). He also won the Montrose Memorial Prize for Jurisprudence (1984).[8]

Shanmugam was awarded the Adrian Clarke Memorial Medal, the Leow Chia Heng Prize and the External Examiner's Prize (1984) for being the top law student of his graduating class and top student in the final-year examinations. He also represented Singapore in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition in 1984, in which his team won Runner-Up in the International Division.[9]

Legal career[]

After being admitted to the Singapore Bar as an advocate and solicitor in 1985, Shanmugam went into private practice and became a Senior Partner and Head of Litigation and Dispute Resolution at Allen & Gledhill.

In 1998, Shanmugam became one of the youngest lawyers to be appointed Senior Counsel (SC) of the Supreme Court at the age of 38.[10]

Shanmugam has acted for Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his predecessors (Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong) in lawsuits. In 1995, the International Herald Tribune selected Shanmugam to represent them after the Lees and Goh initiated a civil libel lawsuit against the newspaper. Lee Kuan Yew later stated that the Tribune's decision to choose Shanmugam to represent them even though he was a People's Action Party member and was close to the Lees and Goh, was the highest form of praise to the Senior Counsel's integrity and to the integrity of the Singapore government as a whole.[11]

Political career[]

Shanmugam entered politics when he joined the People's Action Party (PAP) team contesting Sembawang Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the 1988 General Election. The PAP team won and Shanmugam became a Member of Parliament (MP) representing Sembawang GRC.

Shanmugam served as an MP and continued to practise law until 2008 when he joined the Cabinet to replace S. Jayakumar as Minister for Law.[12] He was concurrently appointed Second Minister for Home Affairs in 2008, and succeeded Wong Kan Seng as Minister for Home Affairs in 2010.

Following the 2011 general election, Shanmugam relinquished his portfolio as Minister for Home Affairs and was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs, while continuing to serve concurrently as Minister for Law.[13] As of 2015, Shanmugam remains as a MP serving the Chong Pang ward in Nee Soon GRC.[14]

Following Shanmugam's remarks on changes to the qualifying criteria for Singapore's elected presidency, he was criticised by former presidential candidate Tan Cheng Bock for pre-empting the legislative process and the Presidential Elections Committee, which decides the eligibility of candidates for the presidential election.[15]

In February 2018, Shanmugam said that Singapore would change its (CBT) laws to address concerns that company directors and key officers of charities would face lower maximum penalties for CBT offences compared to their employees.[16]

Shanmugam was a member of the Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods formed in 2018. During the public hearings, he questioned Simon Milner, Facebook's Vice President of Public Policy for Asia-Pacific, about the misuse of online data by Cambridge Analytica., and crossed swords with historian Thum Ping Tjin over a paper about Operation Coldstore which Thum wrote in 2013.[17]

As Minister for Law[]

As Minister for Law, Shanmugam was a believer in tempering the law with empathy. This has been the basis to make Singapore's laws to be more compassionate, with greater collectivism, and to make the country to looks out for those who are unable to look after themselves.[18]

During Shanmugam's tenure as Minister for Law, some changes to the criminal and family justice system were effected. These include:

  • Overhaul of the existing Penal Code, to modernise Singapore's criminal laws and enhance protection for the vulnerable in society, such as women and children.[19]
  • Enactment of the Protection from Harassment Act, to provide remedies and recourse for victims of harassment, online bullying and stalking. Subsequent amendments fortified the Act by establishing a stand-alone Protection from Harassment Court to allow protection to be obtained expediently by victims, including that of intimate partner violence.[20]
  • Enhancing access to justice through government funding for legal representation of accused persons.[21]
  • Major changes to the family justice system, in which the child's welfare and best interests are placed at the centre of the system. Changes also include helping families navigate the court system with less costs and delays by handling family disputes in less rancorous ways.[22]
  • Introduction of community-based sentences to tap on community resources in the rehabilitation of offenders.[23]
  • Review of the mandatory death penalty to give judges discretion to replace the death penalty with life imprisonment in cases involving unintentional homicide and drug trafficking by couriers, if the stipulated conditions for such are met.[24]
  • Amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Act to fortify Singapore's drug rehabilitation regime through a more calibrated approach.[25]

Other appointments[]

Shanmugam served on the board of directors for several companies before his appointment to the Singapore Cabinet.

Directorships[]

  • Non-Executive Director of Sembcorp (July 1998 – April 2008)[26]
  • Director of Asia Food & Properties (July 1997 – 2001)[27]
  • Director of Golden Agri-Resources (May 1999 – 2001)[27]

Board[]

  • Advisory Board of the Faculty of Law[8]
  • Raffles Institution Board of Governors[8]
  • Media Development Authority[8]
  • Sembawang Corporation Industries Ltd[8]

Shanmugam served as the President of the Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) from March 2002 to March 2009.[8]

Personal life[]

A part of the Tamil diaspora, Shanmugam has been married to clinical child psychologist Seetha Subbiah since 2008. He was previously married to Jothie Rajah, a legal academic and daughter of former judicial commissioner K. S. Rajah. He is also a fan of Arsenal F.C..[28]

References[]

  1. ^ "Free". April 2, 2008. Archived from the original on April 2, 2008.
  2. ^ "MP | Parliament Of Singapore". www.parliament.gov.sg. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  3. ^ "Everything you need to know about PM Press Secretary's rebuttal to Roy Ngerng in 60s". mothership.sg. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  4. ^ "K Shanmugam is appointed to Minister for Law in Singapore". whoswholegal. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  5. ^ "Two of a kind". www.asiaone.com. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  6. ^ hermes (2019-06-16). "Lunch With Sumiko: I do it as long as it's the right thing to do, says Shanmugam". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  7. ^ "Tempering the law with compassion". www.asiaone.com. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f approver (2018-11-20). "PMO | Mr K Shanmugam". Prime Minister's Office Singapore. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  9. ^ "NUS Law Mooting and Debating Club | Jessup". nusmooting. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  10. ^ "Tempering the law with compassion". The Straits Times. 4 November 2012. Archived from the original on 21 January 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2016 – via AsiaOne.
  11. ^ "Everyone has right to choose a lawyer". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  12. ^ Law Minister Jayakumar says K Shanmugam will be asset to cabinet Archived 2008-09-28 at the Wayback Machine, channelnewsasia.com, 29 March 2008
  13. ^ PM Lee announces sweeping changes to Cabinet Archived 2011-05-28 at the Wayback Machine, channelnewsasia.com, 18 May 2011
  14. ^ Shanmugam, K. "Member's Profile". GOVERNMENT OF SINGAPORE. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  15. ^ Lim, Yan Liang (18 September 2016). "Changes to elected presidency seek to improve system, not bar certain individuals: Shanmugam". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  16. ^ "Shanmugam: Gap in CBT law to be plugged soon". The Straits Times. February 6, 2018. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  17. ^ "Minister Shanmugam grills Facebook representative for 3 hours at parliamentary hearing". Mothership.sg. Archived from the original on 2020-02-25. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  18. ^ "Tempering the law with compassion". www.asiaone.com. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  19. ^ "Criminal Law Reform Bill: A look at key changes in the Penal Code". www.todayonline.com. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  20. ^ "Protection from Harassment Act: 5 things you need to know about the landmark legislation". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  21. ^ "Govt will provide direct legal aid to defendants in criminal cases". www.todayonline.com. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  22. ^ "New Family Justice Courts to better resolve family conflicts". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  23. ^ "Rehabilitation Process". www.sps.gov.sg. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  24. ^ "Singapore completes review of mandatory death penalty". www.channelnewsasia.com. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  25. ^ "Rehabilitation regime to be strengthened as part of proposed changes to Misuse of Drugs Act". www.channelnewsasia.com.
  26. ^ "Sembcorp Industries Annual Report 2008 - Delivering Essential Solutions". www.sembcorp.com. Archived from the original on 2017-09-11. Retrieved 2017-09-11.
  27. ^ Jump up to: a b Lim, Leonard (2013-06-25). "MFA seeks answers from Jakarta to conflicting views on whether Singapore firms caused haze". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 2017-09-10. Retrieved 2017-09-11.
  28. ^ Ask Me Anything With Law Minister K Shanmugam, retrieved 2021-08-17

External links[]

Political offices
Preceded by
S. Jayakumar 		Minister for Law
2008 – present 		Incumbent
Preceded by
Wong Kan Seng 		Minister for Home Affairs
2010 – 2011 		Succeeded by
Teo Chee Hean
Preceded by
George Yeo 		Minister for Foreign Affairs
2011 – 2015 		Succeeded by
Vivian Balakrishnan
Preceded by
Teo Chee Hean 		Minister for Home Affairs
2015 – present 		Incumbent
Parliament of Singapore
New constituency Member of Parliament for
Sembawang GRC (Chong Pang)
1988 – 2011 		Constituency redrawn
New constituency Member of Parliament for
Nee Soon GRC (Chong Pang)
2011 – present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from ""