Member of the Parliament of Singapore
1. NAME – Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam
2. PROFESSION– Politician and lawyer
3. BORN – 26th March, 1959
4. PLACE OF BIRTH – Singapore
5. FATHER’S NAME – NA
6. MOTHER’S NAME – NA
7. SPOUSE – Seetha Shanmugam
8. SIBLINGS – NA
9. CHILDREN – 2
10. EDUCATION – Law degree from the National University of Singapore and graduation from the Raffles institution.
11. POLITICAL AFFILIATIONS/PARTY– People’s Action Party
12. OFFICIAL WEBSITE– www.pmo.gov.sg
13. REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENT– Shanmugam was one of the youngest lawyers to be appointed as a senior counsel to the Supreme Court of Singapore. In his earlier days, he was referred as a first-rate litigator. He is also a known animals rights advocate and has been instrumental in changes to legislation against animal abusers. He has been active in calling on organizations to support animal welfare groups.
14. AWARDS – Who’s who legal, Singapore 2008 referred to him as ‘One of the finest all-round legal talents in the country’. K Shanmugam is a renowned politician and lawyer in Singapore
15. BACKGROUND – Shanmugam handled trial work in various major corporate, commercial and insolvency dispute for private and public listed companies, major international and Singaporean banking and financial institutions, multinational
corporations and professional practices. In 1988, he became one of the youngest lawyers to be appointed a senior counsel of the Supreme Court of Singapore. He also became a member of the parliament in the same year of 1988. He served as an MP and continued to practice law till 2008, when he was brought into the cabinet to replace S. Jaykumar as Minister of Law.
16. UPBRINGING & EDUCATION – Shanmugam was educated at the Raffles institution from 1972 to 1977 before going on to study law at the National University of Singapore where he graduated top of his class with a first-class honors degree in 1984.
17. WALK OF LIFE– After being admitted to the Singaporean bar as an advocate and solicitor in 1985, he went into the private sector and became a senior partner and head of litigation and dispute resolution at one of the largest law firms in Singapore, Allen & Gledhill. He had a successful legal practice and was consistently recognized in various international publications as one of the top litigators. He had been involved in numerous cases before he decided to join politics.
18. MAJOR INITIATIVES TAKEN– Shanmugam has taken various policy initiatives such as: Strengthening protection for the vulnerable (by enhancing access to justice, improvements to the legal process) Strengthening their criminal justice system (by providing fair processes and just outcomes) Formation of SG Secure to strengthen community resilience and emergency preparedness. Embracing and integrating the use of technology in the Home Team.
19. CAREER TIMELINE/POSITION HELD–
Minister K Shanmugam was the Minister of Law since May 2008.
He was the Minister of Home Affairs since October 2015, a post which he briefly served from November 2010 to May 2011.
He previously served as the Minister for foreign affairs from May 2011 to September 2015.
He has been a member of the parliament since 1988 representing the Sembawang Group Representation Constituency (1988-2011) and the Nee Soon Group Representation Constituency (since 2011), serving the Chong Pang ward in both constituencies.
20. CONTROVERSIES/CASES – In one of the interviews with the late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, K Shanmugam said something controversial and found himself on the proverbial witness stand, at the receiving end of a very intense examination by no less than the party chief himself.