Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam ( ta, காசிவிஸ்வநாதன் சண்முகம்; born 26 March 1959), better known as K. Shanmugam, is a Singaporean politician and lawyer who has been serving as Minister for Law since 2008 and

Minister for Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergenc ...

since 2015. 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 o ...

(MP) representing the

Chong Pang Chong Pang () is a housing estate located in the subzone of Yishun West along the Sembawang–Yishun boundary in the town of Yishun, Singapore. It was named after the former Chong Pang village. It has precincts of Neighbourhood 1, part of Neighbo ...

division of

Nee Soon GRC The Nee Soon Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the north region of Singapore. The GRC includes most of Yishun town, the private residential areas along Sembawang Road and Upper Thomso ...

since 2011. A lawyer by profession, Shanmugam made a name for himself in litigation, arbitration and

insolvency In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet ...

cases before he entered politics. In 1998, at the age of 38, he was one of the youngest lawyers in Singapore to be appointed

Senior Counsel The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel (post-nominal letters: SC) is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdictio ...

. Along with Davinder Singh, he was known as one of the "twin titans of litigation" and a prominent figure in Singapore's legal circles. Shanmugam has also received praise for being one of the top cross-examiners in Singapore and has acted for and against all three

prime ministers A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is no ...

in civil lawsuits. 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."

Education

Shanmugam was educated at

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 ...

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). 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 The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, also known as the Jessup Moot or The Jessup, is the oldest and largest international moot competition in the world, attracting participants from almost 700 law schools in more than 90 ...

in 1984, in which his team won Runner-Up in the International Division.

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 Allen & Gledhill LLP is a Singapore law firm with a regional network of associate firms and offices. It is the largest law firm in Singapore, and is a regional market leader in many practices, particularly banking, finance, capital markets, corpo ...

. In 1998, Shanmugam became one of the youngest lawyers to be appointed

of the Supreme Court at the age of 38. Shanmugam has acted for Singapore's

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Lee Hsien Loong Lee Hsien Loong (; born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician and former brigadier-general who has been serving as Prime Minister of Singapore and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party since 2004. He has been the Member of Par ...

and his predecessors (

Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...

and

Goh Chok Tong Goh Chok Tong (; born 20 May 1941) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1990 and 2004, and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party between 1992 and 2004. He was the Member of Parliament (M ...

) 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 ''Tribunes decision to choose Shanmugam to represent them even though he was a

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 The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore to mean the executive branch of the state, which is made up of the president and the Cabinet. Although the president acts in their personal discretion in the exercise ...

as a whole.

Political career

Shanmugam entered politics when he joined the

(PAP) team contesting

Sembawang GRC The Sembawang Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) located in the northern area of Singapore. The GRC consists: Sembawang Central, Sembawang West, Woodlands, Admiralty and Canberra divisions. ...

in the 1988 general election. The PAP team won and Shanmugam became a

representing the

ward of Sembawang GRC. Shanmugam served as a Member of Parliament and continued to practise law until 2008 when he joined the Cabinet to replace S. Jayakumar as Minister for Law. He was concurrently appointed Second Minister for Home Affairs in 2008, and succeeded

Wong Kan Seng Wong Kan Seng ( zh, s=黄根成, j=Wong4 Gan1 Sing4, poj=N̂g Kun-sêng, p=Huáng Gēnchéng; born 8 September 1946) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore between 2005 and 2011. He has been serving ...

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 A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

, while continuing to serve concurrently as Minister for Law. As of 2015, Shanmugam remains as a Member of Parliament representing

ward, which had become part of

. 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 Adrian Tan Cheng Bock ( zh, s=陈清木, p=Chén Qīngmù; born 26 April 1940) is a Singaporean politician and medical practitioner. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayer Rajah SMC between 1980 and 2001. He served as Secretary-General o ...

for pre-empting the legislative process and the Presidential Elections Committee, which decides the eligibility of candidates for the presidential election. In February 2018, Shanmugam said that Singapore would change its criminal breach of trust (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. Shanmugam was a member of the Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods formed in 2018. During the public hearings, he questioned Simon Milner,

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

's Vice President of Public Policy for Asia-Pacific, about the misuse of online data by

Cambridge Analytica Cambridge Analytica Ltd (CA), previously known as SCL USA, was a British political consulting firm that came to prominence through the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal. It was started in 2013, as a subsidiary of the private intellig ...

., and crossed swords with historian

Thum Ping Tjin Thum Ping Tjin () (born 17 December 1979), also known as PJ Thum, is a Singaporeans, Singaporean historian, journalist, podcaster, activist and former swimmer. Thum was a national swimmer who participated in the 1996 Summer Olympics, and was ...

over a paper about

Operation Coldstore Operation Coldstore was the code name for a covert security operation executed in Singapore on 2 February 1963 which led to the arrest of 113 people, who were detained without trial pursuant to the Preservation of Public Service Security Ordinan ...

written by Thum in 2013.

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. 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. * Enactment of the Protection from Harassment Act, to provide remedies and recourse for victims of harassment, online bullying and

stalking Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The term ...

. 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. * Enhancing access to justice through government funding for

legal representation In a civil proceeding or criminal prosecution under the common law or under statute, a defendant may raise a defense (or defence) in an effort to avert civil liability or criminal conviction. A defense is put forward by a party to defeat ...

of accused persons. * 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. * Introduction of community-based sentences to tap on community resources in the rehabilitation of offenders. * Review of the

mandatory death penalty Mandatory sentencing requires that offenders serve a predefined term for certain crimes, commonly serious and violent offenses. Judges are bound by law; these sentences are produced through the legislature, not the judicial system. They are inst ...

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. * Amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Act to fortify Singapore's

drug rehabilitation Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general intent i ...

regime through a more calibrated approach.

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 Sembcorp Industries (Sembcorp) is an energy and urban development company. Sembcorp's marine division provided a variety of services, including the engineering and construction of offshore platforms for oil extraction, until it was demerg ...

(July 1998 – April 2008) * Director of Asia Food & Properties (July 1997 – 2001) * Director of Golden Agri-Resources (May 1999 – 2001)

Board

* Advisory Board of the Faculty of Law * Raffles Institution Board of Governors * Media Development Authority * Sembawang Corporation Industries Ltd Shanmugam served as the President of the Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) from March 2002 to March 2009.

Personal life

Shanmugam has been married to clinical psychologist Seetha Shanmugam since 2008. He was formerly married to Jothie Rajah, daughter of KS Rajah. They later divorced. Shanmugam is a practising Hindu. He is also often involved in various religious activities organised by communities of various faiths. He has met Pope Francis in the Vatican City and has referred to the Pontiff as exemplifying the "essence of religion" and a "strong advocate of interfaith dialogue and understanding". Shanmugam also participates regularly in the Taoist Nine Emperor God's festival in his Constituency since he became an MP for the area.

References

External links

K. Shanmugam
on Prime Minister's Office
K. Shanmugam
on Parliament of Singapore * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shanmugam, K Members of the Cabinet of Singapore Members of the Parliament of Singapore People's Action Party politicians 20th-century Singaporean lawyers National University of Singapore alumni Raffles Institution alumni Singaporean people of Tamil descent Singaporean Hindus 1959 births Living people Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Singapore Singaporean Senior Counsel Ministers for Law of Singapore Ministers for Home Affairs of Singapore