V. K. Rajah

Vijaya Kumar Rajah SC (born 14 January 1957),[1] better known as V. K. Rajah, is a Singaporean lawyer who served as the eighth attorney-general of Singapore between 2014 and 2017. Prior to his appointment as attorney-general, he served as a judge of the Court of Appeal of Singapore between 2007 and 2014, and a judge of the High Court of Singapore between 2004 and 2007.

V. K. Rajah
SC
Rajah in 2017
8th Attorney-General of Singapore
In office
25 June 2014 – 14 January 2017
Appointed byTony Tan
DeputyTan Siong Thye
Lucien Wong
Preceded bySteven Chong
Succeeded byLucien Wong
Judge of the Court of Appeal of Singapore
In office
11 April 2007 – 24 June 2014
Appointed byS. R. Nathan
Judge of the High Court of Singapore
In office
1 November 2004 – 10 April 2007
Appointed byS. R. Nathan
Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court of Singapore
In office
2 January 2004 – 31 October 2021
Appointed byS. R. Nathan
Personal details
Born (1957-01-14) 14 January 1957
Colony of Singapore
Alma materNational University of Singapore (LLB)
Trinity Hall, Cambridge (LLM)

Early life

Rajah was born in Singapore on 14 January 1957.

His father was Thampore Thamby Rajah, better known as T. T. Rajah, a leader of Barisan Sosialis,[2] and founder of one of the "Big Four" law firms in Singapore, Rajah & Tann.[3]

Rajah graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1982.

He went on to complete a Master of Laws with first class degree at Trinity Hall, Cambridge in 1986.[4]

Career

Rajah was among the first batch of lawyers in Singapore to be appointed Senior Counsel in 1997,[4] 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.[5]

Rajah has been a Director at Monetary Authority of Singapore since 1 November 2014.[6]

Rajah served as Attorney-General of Singapore[7] until he was succeeded by Lucien Wong on 14 January 2017.[8] 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".[9]

References
  1. Leadership Profiles, Attorney-General's Chambers, 25 June 2014, archived from the original on 9 August 2014.
  2. "Ex-Barisan Sosialis leader T. T. Rajah's funeral today", The Straits Times, 15 March 1996.
  3. "Global Restructuring Review - GRR 100 2019". globalrestructuringreview.com. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. "Company Overview of Rajah & Tann". Bloomberg Business. Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  7. "V K Rajah". asiatatler.com. Edipresse Media Asia Limited. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  8. "Attorney-General V K Rajah to step down next January". ChannelNewsAsia. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  9. "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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