More changes at the top for AGC

Singapore

THE Legal Service Commission has appointed Kwek Mean Luck as the new solicitor- general of the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC), and Mavis Chionh to be the second solicitor-general.

Both of them will start work in their new positions on Jan 14, according to a statement issued by the AGC on Friday.

The changes come exactly a week after the Prime Minister's Office announced that Attorney-General VK Rajah will step down, also on Jan 14, upon reaching the retirement age of 60.

He will be replaced by Lucien Wong, the current chairman and senior partner at Allen & Gledhill, who will begin a three-year term as attorney-general from that same day.

Mr Kwek, 43, is currently the second solicitor-general and has served in this role since July 2015.

He graduated with a law degree from the University of Cambridge on an overseas merit scholarship from the Public Service Commission. He later obtained a Master of Laws from Harvard University under the Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship.

Mr Kwek began his career in Singapore's legal service and worked his way up the ranks. He served as a justices' law clerk at the Supreme Court and then became district judge in the then-Subordinate Courts (now State Courts) and senior assistant registrar in the Supreme Court.

He has held various appointments in the Administrative Service, including deputy secretary at both the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Public Service Division of the Prime Minister's Office. He also had a stint as dean and chief executive of the Civil Service College.

Ms Chionh, 47, is the current third solicitor-general at the AGC and a Senior Counsel. She graduated with a law degree from the University of Oxford and went on to obtain a Master of Laws degree in Chinese Law from the National University of Singapore.

She started her legal career as a justices' law clerk in the Supreme Court, and has held several appointments including as an assistant registrar in the Supreme Court, and a deputy public prosecutor in the AGC.

In the AGC statement, outgoing AG Rajah said that he has known and worked with both Mr Kwek and Ms Chionh for a long time.

"Mean Luck's skills, experience and track record make him more than well qualified to take on the responsibilities of the solicitor-general . . . Mavis' appointment as second solicitor-general is both a recognition of her contributions as well as an affirmation that she will play a significant role in leading AGC towards institutional excellence," he said.