Kenneth Michael Byrne (13 May 1913 – 14 May 1990) was a Singaporean politician, diplomat and lawyer who served as

Minister for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

between 1961 and 1963, Minister for Labour between 1959 and 1961 and Minister for Law between 1959 and 1963.

Early life and education

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. He attended St Xavier's School in Penang where his father was working then and returned to Singapore with his family at the end of 1926. He continued his education at St. Joseph's Institution and

Raffles Institution Raffles Institution (RI) is an independent educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1823, it is the oldest school in the country. It provides secondary education for boys only from Year 1 to Year 4, and pre-university education for both ...

before enrolling into

Raffles College The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the ...

in 1933 and graduating in 1936 with a Diploma in Arts with Class One honours.

Career

Colonial Civil Service

Byrne joined the service in 1938 and was assigned to the Colonial Administrative Service in 1946. Byrne was appointed as the magistrate of the Fourth Police Court to replace R. E. Turnbull in 1939. Byrne was called to the bar in London in 1950. 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 Assistant Secretary of Marine Department, and Principal Assistant Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Industry Ministry. Byrne was Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in 1957 and left the government post in 1958 to join politics.

Political career

During the 1959 general election, Byrne won the election and was elected as the Member of Parliament for

Crawford Crawford may refer to: Places Canada * Crawford Bay Airport, British Columbia * Crawford Lake Conservation Area, Ontario United Kingdom * Crawford, Lancashire, a small village near Rainford, Merseyside, England * Crawford, South Lanarkshire, a ...

and was appointed as Minister for Labour and Minister for Law. Byrne introduced the Industrial Relations Act and the Employment Act in Singapore, which ensured that workers in Singapore were not exploited by foreign investment companies in Singapore. He also presented the

Women's Charter The Women's Charter 1961 is an Act of the Singaporean Parliament passed in 1961. The Act was designed to improve and protect the rights of females in Singapore and to guarantee greater legal equality for women in legally sanctioned relationship ...

to Parliament in 1961 to protect and advance the rights of women and girls in Singapore. Byrne relinquished his portfolio as Minister for Labour but kept his portfolio as Minister for Law and was appointed as Minister for Health in 1961.

Post political career

Following Byrne's loss in the 1963 general election, he entered civil service and was appointed as Chairman of the

Central Provident Fund The Central Provident Fund Board (CPFB), commonly known as the CPF Board or simply the Central Provident Fund (CPF), is a compulsory comprehensive savings and pension plan for working Singaporeans and permanent residents primarily to fund thei ...

and Chairman of the

Singapore Tourist Promotion Board The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Government of Singapore, tasked to promote the country's tourism industry. History The board was first established on 1 January 1964 and w ...

. Byrne was appointed as Singapore's High Commissioner to New Zealand in 1966. In 1973, he was concurrently Singapore's High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Iran, Nepal and Sri Lanka. He went on to become a lawyer, setting up a private practice in Singapore until his death in 1990.

Personal life

Byrne married Elaine Margaret Marcus on 5 August 1939. They have two children, Walter James and Melanie Mary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Kenneth Michael 1913 births 1990 deaths 20th-century Singaporean lawyers Members of the Parliament of Singapore Members of the Cabinet of Singapore Singaporean civil servants Singaporean diplomats Ministers for Health of Singapore Ministers for Law of Singapore Ministers for Labour of Singapore Members of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore