Speaker
Mr K Shanmugam is the Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law. He was first appointed to the Singapore Cabinet in May 2008. Mr Shanmugam has been the Law Minister since May 2008 and, concurrently since October 2015, also the Home Affairs Minister. From 2011 to 2015, Mr Shanmugam was also the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
As Minister for Home Affairs since October 2015, Mr Shanmugam has overseen several programmes and initiatives including: the transformation of the Singapore Police Force’s counter-terrorism capabilities; the introduction of rapid response forces; and the launch of SGSecure, a community-based national movement to strengthen community resilience and emergency preparedness. Mr Shanmugam has also made clear the Government’s resolve against religious extremism and actions which harm racial harmony, by articulating the Government’s philosophy, amending the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act, and putting forth a new Maintenance of Racial Harmony Act. Externally, to strengthen protections of Singapore’s sovereignty in the Internet Age, Mr Shanmugam introduced the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act, to guard against foreign interference in domestic politics and hostile information campaigns.
As Minister for Law, Mr Shanmugam has overseen major developments of Singapore’s legal industry and sector, including important legislative measures to protect the public from new forms of online harms. The Protection from Harassment Act was enacted, to prove remedies and recourse for victims of harassment, online bullying and stalking, with the Protection from Harassment Court set up to hear such matters under a simplified process. The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act was also passed, to enable the countering of online falsehoods and their serious consequences.
Prior to entering Cabinet, Mr. Shanmugam a Senior Partner at Allen & Gledhill LLP and Head of Litigation & Dispute Resolution. Allen & Gledhill was the largest law firm in Singapore at the time. He was in practice for over 20 years, and was appointed Senior Counsel in 1998. When he was in private practice, Mr Shanmugam was consistently recognised in international publications as one of the top litigation, arbitration and insolvency Counsel in Singapore.