Shanmugam Kasiviswanathan famed K Shanmugam, is a Singaporean politician and lawyer who has been serving as Minister for Law since 2008 and Minister for Home Affairs since 2015.
A member of the governing People’s Action Party (PAP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Chong Pang division of Nee Soon GRC since 2011.
A lawyer by profession, Shanmugam made a name for himself in litigation, arbitration and insolvency 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.
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 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.”
K Shanmugam Education
K Shanmugam was educated at Raffles Institution 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 in 1984, in which his team won Runner-Up in the International Division.
K Shanmugam 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.
In 1998, K Shanmugam became one of the youngest lawyers to be appointed Senior Counsel of the Supreme Court at the age of 38.
Shanmugam has acted for Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his predecessors (Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong) 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 Tribune’s decision to choose Shanmugam to represent them even though he was a People’s Action Party 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 as a whole.
K Shanmugam Political career
K Shanmugam entered politics when he joined the People’s Action Party (PAP) team contesting Sembawang GRC in the 1988 general election.
The PAP team won and Shanmugam became a Member of Parliament representing the Chong Pang 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 as Minister for Home Affairs in 2010.
Following the May 2011 general election, Shanmugam relinquished his portfolio as Minister for Home Affairs and was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs, while continuing to serve concurrently as Minister for Law.
As of 2015, Shanmugam remains as a Member of Parliament representing Chong Pang ward, which has become part of Nee Soon GRC.
All about K Shanmugam family
K Shanmugam Parents and siblings
Shanmugam was born to Palaniappan and Nachammai Kasiviswanathan.
K Shanmugam Wife
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
K Shanmugam Children
K. Shanmugam has two children from his previous marriage with Jothie Rajah.
The names of his children are; Shubba Srimoyee Shanmugam and Ravindran Shanmugam.
Hopefully, this article was able to provide you with all the necessary information about K Shanmugam family.
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