Christopher James de Souza (born 21 January 1976) is a Singaporean politician and lawyer who has been serving as Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore since 2020. A member of the governing

People's Action Party The People's Action Party (PAP) is a major Conservatism, conservative political party in Singapore and is the governing contemporary political party represented in the Parliament of Singapore, followed by the opposition Workers' Party of Singap ...

(PAP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Ulu Pandan division of Holland–Bukit Timah GRC since 2006. A lawyer by profession, de Souza has been working at Lee & Lee since 2006 and had also worked at WongPartnership between 2011 and 2014. Prior to entering politics in the 2006 general election, he had worked in the

Singapore Legal Service The Singapore Legal Service is the collective body of lawyers who work in the courts, the Attorney-General's Chambers, and the legal departments of various government ministries and statutory boards in Singapore. Lawyers who are a part of the le ...

Early life and education

de Souza was educated at St. Michael's Primary School,

St. Joseph's Institution St. Joseph's Institution (SJI) is an independent Catholic educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1852 by the De La Salle Brothers, it is the first Catholic school and the third oldest school in the country. SJI has been offering a dual ...

and

Raffles Junior College The Raffles Junior College (RJC) was a junior college in Singapore offering pre-university education. The college was founded in 1982, following a separation from the pre-university section of Raffles Institution (RI). Raffles Junior College ...

before graduating from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

in 2000 with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

with first class honours degree. He subsequently went on to complete a

Bachelor of Civil Law Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL or B.C.L.; ) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge; at Oxford, the BCL contin ...

with distinction degree at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

in 2001 under a scholarship. He had also represented Singapore in

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

at various tournaments until 2005.Lee & Lee - Partners - Christopher de Souza
, accessed on 31 August 2015.

Career

Public service

de Souza started his career in the

in 2002 as a Justice's Law Clerk to Chief Justice

Yong Pung How Yong Pung How (11 April 1926 – 9 January 2020) was a Singaporean judge, lawyer, and banker who served as the second Chief Justice of Singapore from 1990 to 2006 after being appointed by President Wee Kim Wee. During his tenure, he implement ...

. He served as Deputy Public Prosecutor and State Counsel at the

Attorney-General's Chambers In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

between 2004 and 2005 before becoming a Magistrate at the Subordinate Courts and Assistant Registrar at the High Court between 2005 and 2006.

Legal career

de Souza joined Lee & Lee in 2006 as a Senior Associate before he became a Partner in 2008. In 2011, he moved to WongPartnership as a Partner. In 2015, he left WongPartnership and returned to Lee & Lee as a Partner. In 2022, the Disciplinary Tribunal of the

Law Society of Singapore The Law Society of Singapore is an organisation which represents all lawyers in Singapore. The Law Society of Singapore is a law society and is analogous to what is called a Bar Association in many countries and should not be confused with the ...

made a finding that de Souza had engaged in professional misconduct by assisting a client in suppression of evidence. However, this decision was overturned on appeal. On 31 July 2023, the

Court of Three Judges The Court of Three Judges is a court of the Supreme Court of Singapore that adjudicates on professional misconduct of Singapore-qualified lawyers and doctors. Statutory framework The Legal Profession Act 1966 and Medical Registration Act 1997 ...

acquitted de Souza, finding no intention on his part to suppress evidence on behalf of his client. Subsequently, in November 2023, the Law Society of Singapore was ordered to refund de Souza over S$32,000 in costs, affirming his complete exoneration. Through his lawyers, de Souza expressed that he was 'humbled' by the decision and 'feels fully vindicated'.

Political career

De Souza made his political debut in the 2006 general election when he joined a five-member

(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. 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 The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) is a social liberal political party in Singapore. Founded in 1980 by Chiam See Tong, the party gained its first seat in 6th Parliament of Singapore, Parliament in 1984 Singaporean general election, 1984 when ...

, de Souza continued serving as the Member of Parliament representing the Ulu Pandan ward of Holland–Bukit Timah GRC.Final tally of votes cast for GE2011 released
, Fann Sim, SingaporeScene, Yahoo! News Singapore, 12 May 2011, accessed on 16 September 2011.People's Action Party - MP-Elect Profile - Christopher de Souza
, accessed on 16 September 2011. He retained his parliamentary seats in the subsequent general elections in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

and

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

after the PAP team in Holland–Bukit Timah GRC won with 66.60% and 66.36% of the vote against the

in those two general elections. 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. In 2009, he was nominated as a Young Global Leader at the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

.World Economic Forum - Christopher De Souza
, accessed on 16 September 2011. On 31 August 2020, de Souza and

Jessica Tan Jessica Tan Soon Neo (; born 28 May 1966) is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore since 2020. A member of the People's Action Party (PAP), she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) re ...

were elected as Deputy Speakers of Parliament.

Personal life

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

References

External links

Christopher de Souza
on

Parliament of Singapore The Parliament of Singapore is the unicameralism, unicameral legislature of the Singapore, Republic of Singapore, which governs the country alongside the President of Singapore. Largely based upon the Westminster system, the Parliament is made ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Souza, Christopher Living people 1976 births Saint Joseph's Institution, Singapore alumni Raffles Junior College alumni Alumni of King's College London Alumni of the University of Oxford Members of the Parliament of Singapore People's Action Party politicians Singaporean Roman Catholics