Christopher de Souza
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Christopher de Souza (born 1976) is a Singaporean politician and lawyer who has been serving as Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore since 2020. A member of the governing
People's Action Party The People's Action Party (abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and ...
(PAP), he has been the
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) representing the Ulu Pandan division of Holland–Bukit Timah GRC since 2006. A lawyer by profession, de Souza has been working at Lee & Lee since 2006 and had also worked at WongPartnership between 2011 and 2014. Prior to entering politics in the 2006 general election, he had worked in the
Singapore Legal Service The Singapore Legal Service is the collective body of lawyers who work in the courts, the Attorney-General's Chambers, and the legal departments of various government ministries and statutory boards in Singapore. Lawyers who are a part of the leg ...
.


Early life and education

De Souza was educated at St. Michael's Primary School, St. Joseph's Institution and
Raffles Junior College The Raffles Junior College (RJC) was a junior college in Singapore offering pre-university education. The college was founded in 1982, following a separation from the pre-university section of Raffles Institution (RI). Raffles Junior College ...
before graduating from
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
in 2000 with a
Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
with first class honours degree. He subsequently went on to complete a
Bachelor of Civil Law Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL, or B.C.L.; la, Baccalaureus Civilis Legis) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Camb ...
with distinction degree at the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
in 2001 under a scholarship. He had also represented Singapore in
hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
at various tournaments until 2005.Lee & Lee - Partners - Christopher de Souza
, accessed on 31 August 2015.


Career


Public service

De Souza started his career in the
Singapore Legal Service The Singapore Legal Service is the collective body of lawyers who work in the courts, the Attorney-General's Chambers, and the legal departments of various government ministries and statutory boards in Singapore. Lawyers who are a part of the leg ...
in 2002 as a Justice's Law Clerk to Chief Justice
Yong Pung How Yong Pung How (11 April 1926 – 9 January 2020) was a Malayan-born Singaporean judge, lawyer and banker who served as the second chief justice of Singapore between 1990 and 2006, appointed by President Wee Kim Wee. He also served as the chan ...
. He served as Deputy Public Prosecutor and State Counsel at the
Attorney-General's Chambers In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
between 2004 and 2005 before becoming a Magistrate at the
Subordinate Courts A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...
and Assistant Registrar at the High Court between 2005 and 2006.


Legal career

De Souza joined Lee & Lee in 2006 as a Senior Associate before he became a Partner in 2008. In 2011, he left Lee & Lee and joined WongPartnership as a Partner. In 2015, he left WongPartnership and returned to Lee & Lee as a Partner. In 2022, De Souza was found guilty of assisting his client in the suppression of evidence by a Disciplinary Tribunal of the
Law Society of Singapore The Law Society of Singapore is an organisation which represents all lawyers in Singapore. It publishes the ''Law Gazette'' and operates a scheme for needy people to benefit from legal services free-of-charge. The Society also sets out rules for ...
.


Political career

De Souza made his political debut in the 2006 general election when he joined a five-member
People's Action Party The People's Action Party (abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and ...
(PAP) team contesting in Holland–Bukit Timah GRC. The PAP team won by an uncontested walkover and de Souza thus became a Member of Parliament representing the Ulu Pandan ward of Holland–Bukit Timah GRC. During the 2011 general election, de Souza joined the four-member PAP team contesting in Holland–Bukit Timah GRC. After they won with 60.08% of the vote against the
Singapore Democratic Party The Singapore Democratic Party (abbreviation: SDP) is a politcal party in Singapore. The party was founded on 6 August 1980 by Chiam See Tong. During the 1991 general election, Ling How Doong and Cheo Chai Chen won Bukit Gombak SMC and Nee ...
, de Souza continued serving as the Member of Parliament representing the Ulu Pandan ward of Holland–Bukit Timah GRC.Final tally of votes cast for GE2011 released
, Fann Sim, SingaporeScene, Yahoo! News Singapore, 12 May 2011, accessed on 16 September 2011.
People's Action Party - MP-Elect Profile - Christopher de Souza
, accessed on 16 September 2011.
He retained his parliamentary seats in the subsequent general elections in
2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
and
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
after the PAP team in Holland–Bukit Timah GRC won with 66.60% and 66.36% of the vote against the
Singapore Democratic Party The Singapore Democratic Party (abbreviation: SDP) is a politcal party in Singapore. The party was founded on 6 August 1980 by Chiam See Tong. During the 1991 general election, Ling How Doong and Cheo Chai Chen won Bukit Gombak SMC and Nee ...
in those two general elections. De Souza has served on various Government Parliamentary Committees (GPCs) since 2006, and has been the Deputy Chairman for the GPC on Manpower from 2011 to 2015, and Chairman for the GPC on Home Affairs and Law since 2015. In 2009, he was nominated as a Young Global Leader at the
World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...
.World Economic Forum - Christopher De Souza
, accessed on 16 September 2011.
On 31 August 2020, de Souza and
Jessica Tan Jessica Tan Soon Neo (; born 28 May 1966) is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore since 2020. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), she has been the Member of Parliament ( ...
were elected as Deputy Speakers of Parliament.


Personal life

De Souza is a Catholic. He and his wife Sharon have four children.


References


External links


Christopher de Souza
on
Parliament of Singapore The Parliament of Singapore is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Singapore, which governs the country alongside the president of Singapore. Largely based upon the Westminster system, the Parliament is made up of Members of Parliam ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Souza, Christopher Living people 1976 births Saint Joseph's Institution, Singapore alumni Raffles Junior College alumni Alumni of King's College London Alumni of the University of Oxford Members of the Parliament of Singapore People's Action Party politicians Singaporean Roman Catholics