Christopher de Souza

Christopher de Souza (born 1976)[2] is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Deputy Speaker of Parliament since 2020. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he is a Member of the 14th Parliament and has been representing the Ulu Pandan ward of Holland–Bukit Timah Group Representation Constituency (GRC) since 2006.

The Honourable
Christopher de Souza[1]
de Souza in 2015
Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore
Assumed office
31 August 2020
Serving with Jessica Tan
SpeakerTan Chuan-Jin
Preceded byCharles Chong
(2011-2020)
Lim Biow Chuan
(2016-2020)
ConstituencyHolland–Bukit Timah GRC
Member of the Singapore Parliament
for Holland–Bukit Timah GRC
(Ulu Pandan)
Assumed office
6 May 2006
Preceded byVivian Balakrishnan
Majority34,991 (32.72%)
Personal details
Born1976[2]
NationalitySingaporean
Political partyPeople's Action Party
Alma materKing's College London
University of Oxford

A lawyer by profession, de Souza has been working at Lee & Lee since 2006[3][4] and had also worked at WongPartnership from 2011 to 2014. Before entering politics in the 2006 general election, he had worked in the Singapore Legal Service.[5]

Background

De Souza was educated at St. Michael's Primary School, St. Joseph's Institution and Raffles Junior College. He graduated from King's College London in 2000 with a Bachelor of Laws (first class honours) and subsequently completed a Bachelor of Civil Law (distinction) on a scholarship at the University of Oxford in 2001.[5]

De Souza served National Service as a commissioned officer in the Singapore Armed Forces and received a Sword of Honour after completing his training at the Officer Cadet School in 1997.[6][7] He also represented Singapore in hockey at various tournaments up to 2005.[7][5]

De Souza started his career in the Singapore Legal Service in 2002 as a Justice's Law Clerk to Chief Justice Yong Pung How. He served a Deputy Public Prosecutor and State Counsel at the Attorney-General's Chambers from 2004 to 2005 before he became a Magistrate at the Subordinate Courts and Assistant Registrar at the High Court from 2005 to 2006.[8][5]

Political career

De Souza made his political debut in the 2006 general election when he joined a five-member People's Action Party (PAP) team contesting in Holland–Bukit Timah GRC. The PAP team won by an uncontested walkover and de Souza thus became a Member of Parliament representing the Ulu Pandan ward of Holland–Bukit Timah GRC.[2]

During the 2011 general election, de Souza joined the four-member PAP team contesting in Holland–Bukit Timah GRC. After they won with 60.08% of the vote against the Singapore Democratic Party, de Souza continued serving as the Member of Parliament representing the Ulu Pandan ward of Holland–Bukit Timah GRC.[9][8] He retained his parliamentary seats in the subsequent general elections in 2015 and 2020 after the PAP team in Holland–Bukit Timah GRC won with 66.60% and 66.36% of the vote against the Singapore Democratic Party in those two general elections.[2]

De Souza has served on various Government Parliamentary Committees (GPCs) since 2006, and has been the Deputy Chairman for the GPC on Manpower from 2011 to 2015, and Chairman for the GPC on Home Affairs and Law since 2015.[2] In 2009, he was nominated as a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum.[10] On 31 August 2020, de Souza and Jessica Tan were elected as Deputy Speakers of Parliament.[2]

De Souza joined Lee & Lee in 2006 as a Senior Associate before he became a Partner in 2008. In 2011, he left Lee & Lee and joined WongPartnership as a Partner. In 2015, he left WongPartnership and returned to Lee & Lee as a Partner.[5]

Personal life

De Souza is a Catholic.[11] He and his wife Sharon have four children.[11]

References
  1. "Singapore Parliamentary General Election 2006 > Holland-Bukit Timah GRC". Archived from the original on 2019-03-04. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  2. "MP | Parliament of Singapore".
  3. Christopher de Souza Parliament of Singapore Archived 2012-03-20 at the Wayback Machine, accessed on 22 October 2015.
  4. Lee & Lee - Partners - Christopher de Souza Archived 2016-05-30 at the Wayback Machine, accessed on 22 October 2015.
  5. "Member's CV" (PDF).
  6. "Member's CV" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-07-09.
  7. Lee & Lee - Partners - Christopher de Souza Archived 2015-01-05 at the Wayback Machine, accessed on 31 August 2015.
  8. People's Action Party - MP-Elect Profile - Christopher de Souza Archived 2011-05-04 at the Wayback Machine, accessed on 16 September 2011.
  9. Final tally of votes cast for GE2011 released Archived 2011-05-14 at the Wayback Machine, Fann Sim, SingaporeScene, Yahoo! News Singapore, 12 May 2011, accessed on 16 September 2011.
  10. World Economic Forum - Christopher De Souza Archived 2011-08-14 at the Wayback Machine, accessed on 16 September 2011.
  11. "Catholic MP talks about his faith and family values".
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