Kenneth Michael Byrne

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Honourable Minister

Kenneth Michael Byrne
High Commissioner to India and Ambassador to Bangladesh, Iran, Nepal and Sri Lanka
In office
1973–1977
High Commissioner to New Zealand
In office
1966–1972
Chairman of Singapore Tourist Promotion Board
In office
1964–1966
Chairman of Central Provident Fund Board
In office
1964–1966
Minister for Health
In office
24 September 1961 – 18 October 1963
Preceded byAhmad bin Ibrahim
Succeeded byYong Nyuk Lin
Minister for Labour
In office
5 June 1959 – 24 September 1961
Preceded byLim Yew Hock
Succeeded byAhmad bin Ibrahim
Minister for Law
In office
5 June 1959 – 18 October 1963
Preceded byNew office
Succeeded byEdmund William Barker
Member of Parliament
for Crawford Constituency
In office
30 May 1959 – 1 March 1966
Preceded byNew constituency
Succeeded byS.T. Bani
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry
In office
6 March 1957 – 31 August 1958
Preceded byNew Post
Succeeded byAbu Bakar Bin Pawanchee[1]
Personal details
Born13 May 1913
Singapore, Straits Settlement
Died14 May 1990(1990-05-14) (aged 77)
Singapore
Cause of deathHeart attack
Spouse(s)
Elaine Margaret Marcus
​
​
(m. 1939)​
ChildrenWalter James (son)
Melanie Mary (daughter)
Alma materSt. Joseph's Institution, Raffles College
OccupationPolitician, Diplomat, Lawyer

Kenneth Michael Byrne (13 May 1913 – 14 May 1990), also known as K. M. Byrne was a Singaporean Cabinet Minister and a Member of Parliament (MP) for Crawford Constituency during the 2nd Legislative Assembly of Singapore. He was the Singapore ambassdor to India, Bangladesh, Iran, Nepal, Sri Lanka and New Zealand between 1966 and 1977.

Education[]

Byrne was educated at St Xavier's School in Penang where his father was working then and returned to Singapore with his family at the end of 1926 to continue his education at St. Joseph's Institution (SJI) and Raffles Institution.[2]

In 1933, Byrne entered Raffles College to pursue a diploma in arts and by 1936, he graduated with Class One honours.[3]

Career[]

Colonial civil service[]

Byrne joined the service in 1938 and was appointed to the Colonial Administrative Service in 1946.[2]

Byrne was appointed as the magistrate of the Fourth Police Court to replace Mr R E Turnbull in 1939.[4]

Byrne was called to the bar in London in 1950.[5]

In 1953, Byrne was transferred to the Marine Department which was later brought under the Department of Commerce and Industry. He was later appointed as the Assistant Secretary of Marine Department, then Principal Assistant Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Industry Ministry.[2]

Byrne was the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in 1957[6] and left the government post in 1958 to join politics.[1]

Political career[]

In 1959 elections, Byrne won the election as the Member of Parliament for Crawford Constituency[7] and was appointed as the Minister for Labour & Law.[8]

Byrne introduced the Industrial Relations Act and the Employment Act in Singapore. The Industrial Relations Acts and the Employment Act ensured that workers in Singapore were not exploited by foreign investment companies in Singapore.[9] He also presented the Women's Charter to Parliament in 1961 to protect and advance the rights of women and girls in Singapore.[10]

Byrne relinquished the Minister for Labour portfolio and was appointed the minister for health and law in 1961.[11]

Post political career[]

Following Byrne's loss in the 1963 elections, he became a civil servant and was appointed as Chairman of the Central Provident Fund Board[12] and Chairman of the Tourist Promotion Board.[13]

Byrne was appointed as Singapore's High Commissioner to New Zealand in 1966.[14] In 1973, he was concurrently the Singapore's High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Iran, Nepal and Sri Lanka.[15][16]

He later became a lawyer, setting up a private practice in Singapore till his death in 1990.[9][17]

Personal life[]

Byrne was born in Singapore on 13 May 1913. His parents, John and Lizzy Byrne, were both born in Singapore and he was the second child.[18]

Byrne married Elaine Margaret Marcus on 5 August 1939.[19] They have 2 children from the marriage, Walter James (son) and Melanie Mary (daughter).[17]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "MAN FOR BYRNE JOB NAMED". The Straits Times. 28 August 1958. p. 1.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Local men take over 9 top jobs". The Straits Times. 6 March 1957. p. 1. Scroll to Went to Britain
  3. ^ "RAFFLES COLLEGE RESULTS". The Straits Times. 24 March 1936. p. 12.
  4. ^ "Fourth Court Changes". Malaya Tribune. 4 October 1939. p. 7.
  5. ^ "Called to Bar". The Straits Times. 1 July 1950. p. 8.
  6. ^ "Move -up- one ministry promotions in air". The Straits Times. 7 March 1957. p. 9.
  7. ^ "THE RESULTS: ALL YOU". The Straits Times. 31 May 1959. p. 4.
  8. ^ "'Best wishes'—from Goode". The Straits Times. 6 June 1959. p. 14.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "9 Ministers Who Defined The First Cabinet Of Singapore". msnews. 14 July 2015. Archived from the original on 14 July 2019. Scroll to 5. Kenneth Michael Byrne
  10. ^ Leong, Wai Kum (2008). "FIFTY YEARS AND MORE OF THE WOMEN'S CHARTER OF SINGAPORE" (PDF). Singapore Journal of Legal Studies. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  11. ^ "A PLEDGE TO PAP". The Straits Times. 24 September 1961. p. 1.
  12. ^ "Singapore's New Team". The Straits Times. 18 October 1963. p. 10.
  13. ^ "Dr. Goh to address tourist body". The Straits Times. 18 January 1964. p. 13.
  14. ^ "Envoy Byrne in Wellington". The Straits Times. 20 August 1966. p. 8.
  15. ^ "BYRNE ALL SET FOR 'HIGH TEMPO' MISSION". The Straits Times. 14 July 1973. p. 8.
  16. ^ "Byrne is envoy to Iran, too". The Straits Times. 7 October 1973. p. 5.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b "Former minister dies". New Paper. 15 May 1990. p. 2.
  18. ^ "Byrne, the champion of workers and women". The Straits Times. 19 May 1990. p. 29.
  19. ^ "Byrne—Marcus". The Straits Times. 6 August 1939. p. 7.
Political offices
New office Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry
1957 – 1958 		Succeeded by
Abu Bakar Bin Pawanchee
Parliament of Singapore
New constituency Member of the Singaporean Parliament
for Crawford Constituency
1959 – 1963 		Succeeded by
S.T. Bani
Government offices
New office Minister for Law
1959 – 1963 		Succeeded by
Edmund William Barker
Preceded by
Lim Yew Hock 		Minister for Labour
1959 – 1961 		Succeeded by
Ahmad bin Ibrahim
Preceded by
Ahmad bin Ibrahim 		Minister for Health
1961 – 1963 		Succeeded by
Yong Nyuk Lin
Retrieved from ""