S. Jayakumar

Shunmugam Jayakumar (Tamil: சண்முகம் செயக்குமார்; born 12 August 1939),[1] often known as S. Jayakumar, is a Singaporean former politician, lawyer and diplomat of Tamil descent. A former member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he previously served as Singapore's Senior Minister in the Cabinet and the Co-ordinating Minister for National Security from 2009 to 2011, 6th Deputy Prime Minister from 2004 to 2009, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1994 to 2004, Minister for Home Affairs from 1988 to 1994, Minister for Law from 1988 to 2008, and Minister for Labour from 1984 to 1985. He was a member of parliament (MP) for the constituency of Bedok within the East Coast Group Representation Constituency.

Shunmugam Jayakumar
சண்முகம் செயக்குமார்
4th Senior Minister of Singapore
In office 1 April 2009 – 21 May 2011 Serving with Goh Chok Tong (2004–2011)
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Lee Kuan Yew
Succeeded by	Teo Chee Hean Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Co-ordinating Minister for National Security
In office 1 September 2005 – 31 October 2010
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Tan Keng Yam Tony
Succeeded by	Wong Kan Seng
Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
In office 12 August 2004 – 1 April 2009 Serving with Tony Tan, Wong Kan Seng
President	S. R. Nathan
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Lee Hsien Loong
Succeeded by	Teo Chee Hean (2009-2011) Tharman Shanmugaratnam (2011-2019)
Constituency	East Coast GRC (Bedok)
Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office 2 January 1994 – 12 August 2004
Prime Minister	Goh Chok Tong
Preceded by	Wong Kan Seng
Succeeded by	George Yeo
Minister for Law
In office 12 September 1988 – 30 April 2008
Prime Minister	Lee Kuan Yew Goh Chok Tong Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Edmund William Barker
Succeeded by	K. Shanmugam
Minister for Home Affairs
In office 2 January 1985 – 1 January 1994
Prime Minister	Lee Kuan Yew Goh Chok Tong
Preceded by	Chua Sian Chin
Succeeded by	Wong Kan Seng
Member of Parliament for East Coast GRC (Bedok) Bedok SMC (1980–1988) Bedok GRC (Bedok) (1988–1997)
In office 23 December 1980 – 19 April 2011
Preceded by	Sha'ari bin Tadin
Succeeded by	Lim Swee Say
Permanent Representative to the United Nations
In office 1971–1974
Personal details
Born	(1939-08-12) 12 August 1939 Singapore, Straits Settlements
Nationality	Singaporean
Political party	People's Action Party (1980-2011)
Spouse(s)	Lalitha Rajahram
Children	3
Alma mater	National University of Singapore
Profession	Lawyer, diplomat

In this Indian name, the name Shunmugam is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Jayakumar.

S. Jayakumar was the 6th Deputy Prime Minister on 2 January 1994 till 12 August 2004 when former Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong stepped down from position. S. Jayakumar was serving as Deputy Prime Minister with Tony Tan & Wong Kan Seng. In May 2011, he retired from politics.[2] In June 2020, he was appointed Pro-Chancellor of the National University of Singapore.[3]

Academic career

Jayakumar received his secondary education in Raffles Institution, before going on to the University of Singapore where he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours). He was admitted to the Bar in 1964, and then furthered his education at Yale Law School where he received a Master of Laws degree in 1966. Upon his return to Singapore, Jayakumar took on a lecturing position in the Faculty of Law at the National University of Singapore from 1964 to 1981, assuming the position of Dean of the Faculty in 1974.

Political career

Jayakumar served as Singapore's Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) and High Commissioner to Canada from 1971 to 1974, and was a member of Singapore's delegation to the UN Law of the Sea Conference from 1974 to 1979.

Jayakumar authored three books and 32 articles on the topics of constitutional law, international law and legal education. He was awarded the Public Service Star (BBM) in 1980.

In 1980, Jayakumar was elected a member of parliament (MP) for the constituency of Bedok. He was returned as the MP for the same constituency in 1984 as an incumbent, and as one of the three MPs in the newly created Group Representation Constituency (GRC) scheme in 1988. This was again the case, as one of the four MPs in the same GRC in the 1991 General Election. He was re-elected as one of six MPs for the East Coast GRC in the 1997 General Election. In 2006, he was re-elected in the new five-member East Coast GRC.

In 1981, Jayakumar was appointed as a Minister of State at the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Law. He entered the Cabinet of Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew in 1984 as the Minister for Labour with the additional portfolios of Second Minister for Home Affairs and Second Minister for Law.

Jayakumar was appointed Minister for Home Affairs and Second Minister for Law on 2 January 1985.

In 1988, Jayakumar was appointed Minister for Law and Minister for Home Affairs. He retained these portfolios when Goh Chok Tong became Prime Minister in 1990.

In January 1994, Jayakumar was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law.

On 12 August 2004 when it was his 65th birthday, Jayakumar was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Law in the Cabinet of the new Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong. On 1 September 2005, Jayakumar took over the role as Co-ordinating Minister for National Security from former President Tony Tan to oversee counter-terrorism policies in Singapore.

Jayakumar stepped down as Minister for Law on 30 April 2008,[4][5] and as Deputy Prime Minister on 1 April 2009.

Retirement

Jayakumar was appointed a Senior Minister on 1 April 2009 before retiring from politics on 21 May 2011.[6] He decided not to contest in the 2011 General Elections due to health reasons.

After retirement, he served as Chair of the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law's Advisory Council[7] and Patron of the NUS Centre for International Law.[8] He is also presently a consultant with Drew & Napier.[9] In 2015 he published a memoir titled 'Be at the Table or Be on the Menu: A Singapore Memoir'.[10] He is currently appointed as a pro-chancellor of the National University of Singapore for a three year term starting from 1 July 2020.[11]

Awards

In April 2012, Jayakumar was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun by the Japanese government.[12] On 9 August 2020, Jayakumar was awarded the Order of Temasek (with High Distinction) during Singapore's National Day Awards ceremony.[13][14]

References

1. Justin Corfield (2 December 2010). Historical Dictionary of Singapore. Scarecrow Press. pp. 124–. ISBN 978-0-8108-7387-2.
2. "Senior Minister S. Jayakumar to retire". Retrieved 16 June 2011.
3. "Former DPM S. Jayakumar appointed NUS pro-chancellor". Retrieved 11 July 2020.
4. "PM Lee unveils cabinet changes". 29 March 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2007.
5. "Shanmugam gets Law in new Cabinet line-up". 30 March 2008. Archived from the original on 3 April 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2007.
6. Chang, Rachel. "Former Senior Minister S Jayakumar launches memoir". Straits Times. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
7. NUS Law Advisors.
8. NUS Centre for International Law Patrons.
9. Jayakumar, S. "Professor". Drew & Napier LLC. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
10. Abdul Khamid, Hetty Musfirah. "S Jayakumar's book a reminder of Singapore's position in the world: PM Lee". CNA. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
11. Ang, Jolene (18 June 2020). "Former DPM S. Jayakumar appointed NUS pro-chancellor". The Straits Times. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
12. "Japan to confer award on former DPM Jayakumar". ChannelNewsAsia. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
13. "Former DPM S Jayakumar heads list of National Day Award recipients". CNA. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
14. Yuen-C, Tham (9 August 2020). "Nation's top civilian honour for Jayakumar". The Straits Times. Retrieved 10 August 2020.

Bibliography

• Jayakumar, S. (2003), The water issue: statement by Singapore Foreign Minister Prof S Jayakumar in Parliament, 25 Jan 2003, Singapore: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

(Contains official documents, press statements and speeches, correspondence between ministers of Singapore and Malaysia and text of the water agreements)

• Jayakumar, S. (c. 1996), The Southeast Asian drama: evolution and future challenges : Georgetown University inaugural distinguished lecture on Southeast Asia, Washington DC, 22 April 1996, Singapore(?): Ministry of Foreign Affairs(?)
• Jayakumar, S.; chairman ..., eds. (1984). People's Action Party 1954–1984 : Petir 30th anniversary issue. Singapore: Central Executive Committee, People's Action Party.
• Jayakumar, S., ed. (1982), Our heritage and beyond : a collection of essays on Singapore, its past, present and future, Singapore: Singapore National Trades Union Congress
• Jayakumar, S.; Chin, Tet Yung (1981), Report on the development of the Faculty of Law, Singapore: National University of Singapore
• Jayakumar, S. (1976). Constitutional law cases from Malaysia and Singapore. Singapore: Malayan Law Journal.
• Jayakumar, S. (1976). Constitutional law, with documentary materials. Singapore: Malaya Law Review, Faculty of Law, University of Singapore.
• Jayakumar, S. (1974). Public international law cases from Malaysia and Singapore. Singapore: Singapore University Press.

External links

• Official Biography of Prof. S. Jayakumar in the Cabinet of Singapore.

Political offices
Preceded by E W Barker	Minister for Labour 1983–1985 (Acting: 1983–1984)	Succeeded by Lee Yock Suan as Acting Minister for Labour
Preceded by Chua Sian Chin	Minister for Home Affairs 1985–1994	Succeeded by Wong Kan Seng
Preceded by Edmund W. Barker	Minister for Law 1988–2008	Succeeded by K Shanmugam
Preceded by Wong Kan Seng	Minister for Foreign Affairs 1994–2004	Succeeded by George Yeo
Preceded by Lee Hsien Loong	Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore 2004–2009	Succeeded by Teo Chee Hean
Preceded by Tony Tan	Co-ordinating Minister for National Security 2005–2010	Succeeded by Wong Kan Seng
Preceded by Lee Kuan Yew	Senior Minister of Singapore Serving with Goh Chok Tong 2009–2011	Position abolished