Minister K Shanmugam (born Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam) holds two portfolios, in law and home affairs. When it comes to his contributions to Singapore, he made significant changes to enhance the criminal and family justice systems, and stamped out religious extremism—which is especially important within the context of the country’s multi-cultural fabric. He was formerly Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Shanmugam was called to the bar in 1985 after graduating with first-class honours from the National University of Singapore. Practising privately, he was with Allen & Gledhill as a senior partner, and the head of litigation and dispute resolution. In 1998, he became a senior counsel of the Supreme Court of Singapore. One of Asia’s top litigation, arbitration and insolvency counsels, he handled trial work in major corporate, commercial and insolvency disputes, malpractice suits and inquiries, and has acted for lawyers in disciplinary inquiries and in criminal proceedings. Those he represented include Singapore’s prime ministers and the Chief Justice.

Before accepting public office, Shanmugam was president of the Singapore Indian Development Association for seven years, and also served on the advisory board of the Faculty of Law at the National University of Singapore, as well as the Raffles Institution board of governors.