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 was appointed in the Minister in the Prime Minister's Office , Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for National Development and currently Leader of the House by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. She was elected as the People's Action Party Central Executive Committee member.

The Honourable Indranee Rajah SC MP
இந்திராணி ராஜா
Indranee Rajah at the 2018 G20 Buenos Aires summit
Minister in the Prime Minister's Office
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 May 2018 Serving with Ng Chee Meng (2018–2020) & Maliki Osman (since 2020) & Tan See Leng (since 2020)
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Chan Chun Sing (2015–2018) Josephine Teo (2017–2018)
Constituency	Tanjong Pagar GRC
Leader of the House
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 August 2020
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Deputy	Zaqy Mohamad
Preceded by	Grace Fu
Second Minister for National Development
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 July 2020
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Minister	Desmond Lee
Preceded by	Desmond Lee
Second Minister for Education
In office 1 May 2018 – 26 July 2020
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Minister	Ong Ye Kung
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Maliki Osman
Second Minister for Finance
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 May 2018 Serving with Lawrence Wong
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Minister	Heng Swee Keat
Second Minister for Law
In office 1 May 2018 – 30 June 2018
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Minister	K. Shanmugam
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Senior Minister of State, Ministry for Finance
In office 1 October 2015 – 30 April 2018
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Minister	Heng Swee Keat
Preceded by	Josephine Teo
Senior Minister of State, Ministry for Law
In office 1 November 2012 – 30 April 2018
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Ho Peng Kee
Succeeded by	Edwin Tong
Senior Minister of State, Ministry for Education
In office 1 November 2012 – 30 September 2015
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Janil Puthucheary
Member of the Singapore Parliament for Tanjong Pagar GRC (Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru)
Incumbent
Assumed office 23 March 2015
Preceded by	Lee Kuan Yew
Member of the Singapore Parliament for Tanjong Pagar GRC (Tanglin-Cairnhill)
In office 4 November 2001 – 11 September 2015
Personal details
Born	12 April 1963 Singapore, Colony of Singapore
Nationality	Singaporean
Political party	People's Action Party (2001)
Education	National University of Singapore

She has also been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing Tanjong Pagar GRC for Tanjong Pagar - Tiong Bahru 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.

Legal practice

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]

Ms Indranee Rajah has been named Leader of the House for the 14th Parliament, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) announced in a statement on Thursday (20 Aug 2020).[7]

Education

Indranee was educated at Marymount Convent Primary School, Marymount Convent Secondary School[8] 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.[9] Her father was Hindu and her mother, an ethnic Chinese, was Anglican and she was raised in her mother's faith.[8]

References

1. "Singapore reshuffles Cabinet". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 18 March 2013. 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. Archived from the original on 15 April 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
4. "Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announces Singapore's new Cabinet". Channel NewsAsia. 28 September 2015. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. "Changes to Cabinet and Other Appointments (Apr 2018)". Prime Minister's Office. 24 April 2018. Archived from the original on 24 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
7. "Indranee Rajah named Leader of the House, Tan Chuan-Jin to be nominated again as Speaker of Parliament: PMO". TODAYonline. Archived from the original on 26 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
8. Long, Susan (28 March 2014). "Life lessons from my mother". Council for Third Age (C3A). Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
9. "A.T. RAJAH (A NAME IN POLICE AND ATHLETICS) DIES IN HOSPITAL". The Straits Times. Courtesy of NewspaperSG. 16 September 1968. p. 9. Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.

External links

• Indranee Rajah on Prime Minister's Office
• Indranee Rajah on Parliament of Singapore