V. K. Rajah

Vijaya Kumar Rajah SC (born 14 January 1957),[1] better known as V. K. Rajah, is a Singaporean former judicial officer. He served as Attorney-General of Singapore from 2014 to 2017 and as a Judge of Appeal of the Supreme Court from 2007 to 2014.

V. K. Rajah

SC
Rajah giving a speech at SMU School of Law in 2017. He has been chairman of the school's advisory board since 2017, and was also on the board from 2007–2013.
8th Attorney-General of Singapore
In office
25 June 2014 – 14 January 2017
Appointed byTony Tan Keng Yam
Preceded bySteven Chong J, SC
Succeeded byLucien Wong, SC
Judge of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Singapore
In office
11 April 2007 – 24 June 2014
Appointed byS. R. Nathan
Judge of the Supreme Court of Singapore
In office
1 November 2004 – 10 April 2007
Appointed byS. R. Nathan
Judicial Commissioner of Singapore
In office
2 January 2004 – 31 October 2004
Appointed byS. R. Nathan
Personal details
Born (1957-01-14) 14 January 1957
Singapore
NationalitySingaporean
Alma mater

Early life

Rajah graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law in 1982 and obtained his Master of Laws (First Class) from Trinity Hall, Cambridge in 1986.[2] His father, Thampore Thamby Rajah, better known as T. T. Rajah, was a leader of the former Singaporean left-wing political party Barisan Sosialis.[3]

Career

Rajah was among the first batch of lawyers in Singapore to be appointed Senior Counsel in 1997,[2] and was once the managing partner of law firm Rajah & Tann. He was also part of the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law moot team which won the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition in 1982, a first for the university. The other members of the team were Davinder Singh, Jimmy Yim and Steven Chong. He was first appointed Judicial Commissioner on 2 January 2004, Judge of the High Court on 1 November 2004, and subsequently Judge of Appeal in April 2007.

Rajah's publications include Judicial Management in Singapore (with T. C. Choong, Singapore: Butterworths, 1990). He was also the chair of a committee that produced an influential report in 2007 reviewing Singapore's legal sector.[4]

Rajah has been a Director at Monetary Authority of Singapore since 1 November 2014.[5]

Rajah served as Attorney-General of Singapore[6] until he was succeeded by Lucien Wong on 14 January 2017.[7] During his term, he "emphasised fair prosecution and outcomes", even appealing as a prosecutor for a reduced sentence in 2015, which was unprecedented in Singapore. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong thanked him for carrying out his duties "with dynamism and commitment".[8]

References
  1. Leadership Profiles, Attorney-General's Chambers, 25 June 2014, archived from the original on 18 September 2014.
  2. Statement From the Prime Minister's Office: Appointment of Judge of the High Court [Document No. 2004110101], Prime Minister's Office (archived on the National Archives of Singapore website), 1 November 2004, archived from the original on 18 September 2014.
  3. "Ex-Barisan Sosialis leader T. T. Rajah's funeral today", The Straits Times, 15 March 1996.
  4. Report of the Committee to Develop the Singapore Legal Sector: Final Report, Ministry of Law, September 2007, archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2012.
  5. "Company Overview of Rajah & Tann". Bloomberg Business. Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  6. "V K Rajah". asiatatler.com. Edipresse Media Asia Limited. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  7. "Attorney-General V K Rajah to step down next January". ChannelNewsAsia. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  8. "PM Lee thanks outgoing Attorney-General V K Rajah for outstanding contributions". Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.

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