S. Jayakumar (Singaporean politician)

Shunmugam Jayakumar (சண்முகம் செயக்குமார்; born 12 August 1939), often known as S. Jayakumar, is a Singaporean former politician, diplomat, jurist and author who served as 5th Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore between 2004 and 2009.

Jayakumar was educated at Raffles Institution before graduating from the University of Singapore (now the National University of Singapore) with a Bachelor of Laws with honours degree and was called to the Bar in 1964.

Upon his graduation from Yale Law School, Jayakumar took on a lecturing position at the National University of Singapore's Faculty of Law between 1964 and 1981, assuming the position of Dean in 1974, which he held until 1980.

He subsequently went on to complete a Master of Laws degree at Yale Law School in 1966.

While teaching at NUS Faculty of Law, Jayakumar concurrently served as Singapore's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Singapore's High Commissioner to Canada between 1971 and 1974.

He was also a member of Singapore's delegation to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea between 1974 and 1979.

Jayakumar also authored three books and 32 articles on the topics of constitutional law, international law and legal education.

A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bedok SMC between 1980 and 1988, the Bedok division of Bedok GRC between 1988 and 1997, and later East Coast GRC between 1997 and 2011.

In 1980, Jayakumar was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Bedok constituency.

In 1981, Jayakumar was appointed as Minister of State for Home Affairs and Minister of State for Law.

He first served in Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew's Cabinet in 1984 as Minister for Labour, 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.

He remained as the MP for the Bedok constituency after the 1988 general election but this time under the newly created Bedok GRC.

In 1988, Jayakumar was appointed Minister for Law and Minister for Home Affairs.

He retained these portfolios under Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.

During the 1991 general election, he remained as the MP for the Bedok constituency but this time under the newly created East Coast GRC.

Jayakumar served as Minister for Foreign Affairs between 1994 and 2004, Minister for Home Affairs between 1988 and 1994, Minister for Law between 1988 and 2008, Minister for Labour between 1984 and 1985, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security concurrently between 2009 and 2011.

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

He retained his seat in 1997 general election and 2006 general election.

He also resigned as a permanent member of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights which he was appointed to the position on 1 July 1998.

After his retirement from politics, Jayakumar served as Chair of the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law's Advisory Council and Patron of the NUS Centre for International Law.

He became an emeritus professor at the NUS Faculty of Law, and a consultant at Drew & Napier, one of the Big Four law firms in Singapore.

He was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in 2004 after Lee Hsien Loong stepped down as Deputy Prime Minister and took up the office of Prime Minister.

He was serving as Deputy Prime Minister alongside Tony Tan and Wong Kan Seng.

On 12 August 2004, Jayakumar was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Law under Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's Cabinet.

On 1 September 2005, Jayakumar took over the role as Coordinating Minister for National Security from Tony Tan to oversee counter-terrorism policies in Singapore.

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

Jayakumar was appointed a Senior Minister on 1 April 2009 before retiring from politics on 21 May 2011.

In 2009, Jayakumar and Ambassador-at-Large Tommy Koh published the book titled Pedra Branca: The Road to the World Court, which covers the territorial dispute between Malaysia and Singapore over Pedra Branca, a small island of strategic value located near the entry point to the Straits of Malacca.

He decided not to contest in the 2011 general election citing health reasons.

In 2011, Jayakumar published a book titled Diplomacy: A Singapore Experience.

The book covers his reflections on many events and episodes during his many years in public service.

It also shared behind-the-scenes political decision making that governed Singapore's responses during important post-independence events that formed the basis of Singapore's foreign policy principles.

In 2015, he published a memoir titled Be at the Table or Be on the Menu: A Singapore Memoir, which covers his early life and his career as a law academic and dean before he entered politics.

In 2019, Jayakumar, Ambassador-at-Large Tommy Koh and Deputy Attorney-General Lionel Lee launched the book titled "Pedra Branca: Story Of The Unheard Cases", which recounts how Singapore's team prepared in the dispute with Malaysia over the sovereignty of Pedra Branca and also serves as a continuation to Pedra Branca: The Road to the World Court.

In June 2020, he was appointed Pro-Chancellor of the National University of Singapore.

On 1 July 2020, he was appointed pro-chancellor of the National University of Singapore, where he served until 2023.

On 4 April 2021, during the National Day Awards, Jayakumar was conferred the Order of Temasek (With High Distinction), the nation's highest civilian honour, by President Halimah Yacob for his "wide-ranging, invaluable and unique contributions to the well-being and security of Singapore".

In the investiture ceremony, he was praised for having "given his entire life to the service of Singapore" and the citation of his award said: "Uniquely among public servants, Prof Jayakumar brought an exceptionally keen legal mind to bear on a considerable range of issues, from national security and foreign policy to political and constitutional developments."

Jayakumar has written and published several books related to his life and experiences in foreign affairs and diplomacy.