Indranee Rajah

Indranee Thurai Rajah SC (born 12 April 1963) is a Singaporean politician and former lawyer. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), she has been Minister in the Prime Minister's Office since May 2018, Second Minister for National Development since July 2020 and Second Minister for Finance since May 2018. She has also been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tanjong Pagar GRC since 2001. She is the fourth woman to become a full Minister in Singapore's history after Lim Hwee Hua, Grace Fu and Josephine Teo.

The Honourable

Indranee Rajah

SC MP
இந்திராணி ராஜா
Indranee Rajah at the Singapore Management University School of Law commencement ceremony in 2018.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Office
Assumed office
1 May 2018
Serving with Ng Chee Meng (2018–2020) &
Maliki Osman (since 2020) &
Tan See Leng (since 2020)
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded byChan Chun Sing
(2015–2018)
Josephine Teo
(2017–2018)
Second Minister for National Development
Assumed office
27 July 2020
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
MinisterDesmond Lee
Preceded byDesmond Lee
Second Minister for Finance
Assumed office
1 May 2018
Serving with Lawrence Wong
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
MinisterHeng Swee Keat
Second Minister for Education
In office
1 May 2018 – 26 July 2020
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
MinisterOng Ye Kung
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byMaliki Osman
Second Minister for Law
In office
1 May 2018 – 30 June 2018
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
MinisterK. Shanmugam
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Senior Minister of State,
Ministry for Finance
In office
1 October 2015 – 30 April 2018
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
MinisterHeng Swee Keat
Preceded byJosephine Teo
Senior Minister of State,
Ministry for Law
In office
1 November 2012 – 30 April 2018
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded byHo Peng Kee
Succeeded byEdwin Tong
Senior Minister of State,
Ministry for Education
In office
1 November 2012 – 30 September 2015
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byJanil Puthucheary
Member of the Singapore Parliament
for Tanjong Pagar GRC
(Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru)
Assumed office
23 March 2015
Preceded byLee Kuan Yew
Member of the Singapore Parliament
for Tanjong Pagar GRC
(Tanglin-Cairnhill)
In office
4 November 2001 – 11 September 2015
Personal details
Born (1963-04-12) 12 April 1963
Singapore, Colony of Singapore
NationalitySingaporean
Political partyPeople's Action Party (2001)
EducationNational University of Singapore
In this Indian name, the name Rajah is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Indranee.

Indranee began her legal career in 1987 with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. She joined Drew & Napier in 1988 and became a director of the firm in 1991. She was a litigator and had an active court practice as an advocate and solicitor, specialising in cross-border dispute resolution. She was appointed Senior Counsel by the Chief Justice of Singapore in January 2003.

Recognition

Indranee was recognised by Asia Pacific Legal 500 for her dispute resolution and international arbitration practice. She was named as a "Leading Individual in the field of Dispute Resolution" in the 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2010–11 editions.

Indranee was also named as a leading lawyer by Best Lawyers International: Singapore and the 2009 Best Lawyers Annual Guide to Litigation & ADR. In Best Lawyers International: Singapore, Indranee was also named as a leading lawyer for both the Litigation and Arbitration & Mediation categories in 2008 and 2009.

Political career

Indranee served as a Deputy Speaker of Parliament from 2006 to 2011.

On 31 July 2012, Indranee was promoted to Senior Minister of State for Law and Education and formally assumed these positions on 1 November 2012.[1]

On 28 November 2013, it was announced that Indranee was heading a 12-member steering committee to provide strategic direction for the planned third law school in Singapore, including its admissions criteria, curriculum development and educational philosophy. Other notable members of this committee include Attorney-General's Chambers chief prosecutor Tai Wei Shyong and Chief District Judge See Kee Oon. Also on the list are senior counsels Amarjeet Singh and N. Sreenivasan, renowned criminal lawyer Subhas Anandan and leading family lawyer Foo Siew Fong. [2]

On 16 February 2016, Ms Indranee Rajah, the Law Ministry and the Singapore University of Social Sciences jointly held a press conference to announce the third Law School, known as the Singapore University of Social Sciences School of Law. It is expected to fill the shortfall in law practitioners in the areas of family and criminal law.[3]

On 28 September 2015, it was announced that Indranee will be the Senior Minister of State for Finance and Law from 1 October 2015.[4]

On 9 March 2018, Indranee made a renewed attack on Facebook against Workers' Party Sylvia Lim who voiced her suspicion on the PAP's government intention to raise GST in order to extract an apology. The public criticised Indranee and her fellow Ministers and MPs for hounding Lim and being narrow-minded, and supported Lim for asking a legitimate question on behalf of her constituency.[5]

On 1 May 2018, Indranee was promoted to full Minister. She was appointed Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for Education. As a transition arrangement, she was also appointed Second Minister for Law until 30 June 2018 (when Edwin Tong became Senior Minister of State in the Ministry).[6]

Education

Indranee was educated at Marymount Convent Primary School, Marymount Convent Secondary School[7] and Raffles Institution, before going on to the National University of Singapore, where she completed a Bachelor of Law (Honours) degree in 1986.

Personal life

Indranee is the daughter of the late A.T. Rajah, retired Deputy Commissioner of Police and former President of the Singapore National Olympic Council.[8] Her father was Hindu and her mother, an ethnic Chinese, was Anglican and she was raised in her mother's faith.[7]

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References
  1. "Singapore reshuffles Cabinet". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  2. Sandra Davie (28 November 2013). "Top legal minds to help shape 3rd law school". The Straits Times (reproduced on Singapore Law Watch). Archived from the original on 3 December 2013.
  3. "Singapore's 3rd law school to focus on mid-career professionals". SUSS. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  4. "Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announces Singapore's new Cabinet". Channel NewsAsia. 28 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  5. http://redwiretimes.com/kua-politics/indranee-rajah-faces-backlash-for-renewed-attack-on-sylvia-lim-over-gst-hike-test-balloons-suspicion/
  6. "Changes to Cabinet and Other Appointments (Apr 2018)". Prime Minister's Office. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  7. Long, Susan (28 March 2014). "Life lessons from my mother". Council for Third Age (C3A).
  8. "A.T. RAJAH (A NAME IN POLICE AND ATHLETICS) DIES IN HOSPITAL". The Straits Times. Courtesy of NewspaperSG. 16 September 1968. p. 9.
Political offices
Preceded by
Chan Chun Sing
Josephine Teo		 Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office
2018 – present
Served alongside: Ng Chee Meng		 Incumbent
Parliament of Singapore
New constituency Member of Parliament for
Tanjong Pagar GRC (Tanglin-Cairnhill)
2001 – 2015		 Constituency redrawn
Preceded by
Lee Kuan Yew		 Member of Parliament for
Tanjong Pagar GRC (Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru)
2015 – present		 Incumbent

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