Teo Chee Hean
Teo Chee Hean (Chinese: 张志贤; pinyin: Zhāng Zhìxián; born 27 December 1954) is a Singaporean politician and former two-star rear-admiral who has been serving as Senior Minister since 2019 and Coordinating Minister for National Security since 2015. A member of the governing People's Action Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Pasir Ris West ward of Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC since 2001.
A recipient of the President's Scholarship and Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship, Teo started his career in the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) in 1972 and held various staff and command positions before rising to the rank of two-star rear-admiral. He served as the Chief of Navy between 1991 and 1992 before leaving from the Navy.
He was elected as a Member of Parliament after winning the 1992 by-election in Marine Parade Group Representation Cons*uency (GRC) as part of a four-member People's Action Party (PAP) team. He was previously Deputy Prime Minister (2009–2019) and had held the Cabinet portfolios of Education (1997–2003), Defence (2003–2011) and Home Affairs (2011–2015). Within the PAP, Teo was First *istant Secretary-General in the party's Central Executive Committee until he was replaced by Heng Swee Keat in November 2018.
Contents
- 1 Education
- 2 Career
- 2.1 Military career
- 2.2 Political career
- 3 Personal life
- 4 References
- 5 Bibliography
- 6 External links
Education
Teo attended St. Joseph's Ins*ution and received the President's Scholarship and Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship in 1973 to study at the University of Manchester, from which he graduated in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science (First Cl* Honours) in electrical engineering and management science. In 1977, he completed a Master of Science (Distinction) in computing science at Imperial College London. In 1986, he completed a Master of Public Administration at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, where he was named a Littauer Fellow.
Career
Military career
Teo enlisted in the Singapore Armed Forces in 1972 and was commissioned as a naval officer at the SAFTI Military Ins*ute in 1973. He went on to hold various command and staff appointments in the Republic of Singapore Navy and the Joint Staff before he rose to the position of Chief of Navy in 1991 with the rank of two-star rear-admiral. He retired from the military on 7 December 1992 to participate in a 1992 by-election.
Political career
Teo made his political debut in the 1992 by-election in Marine Parade Group Representation Cons*uency (GRC) when he contested as part of a four-member People's Action Party team led by Goh Chok Tong. After the PAP team won with 72.9% of the vote against three opposition parties, Teo became a Member of Parliament representing the Joo Chiat ward of Marine Parade GRC. He was subsequently appointed Minister of State in the Ministries of Finance, Communications and Defence.
In April 1995, Teo was appointed Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence and Acting Minister for the Environment. In January 1996, he was promoted to full Minister and given the Cabinet portfolios of Minister for the Environment and Second Minister for Defence.
Teo switched to contesting in Pasir Ris GRC at the 1997 general election and the four-member PAP team led by him won with 70.9% of the vote against the Workers' Party. Teo thus became a Member of Parliament representing the Pasir Ris Loyang ward of Pasir Ris GRC. In subsequent Cabinet reshuffles, he became Minister for Education while continuing to serve as Second Minister for Defence.
In the 2001 general election, Teo led the five-member PAP team contesting in the newly formed Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC and won with an uncontested walkover. After winning the general election, he continued to hold his previous Cabinet portfolios while becoming the Member of Parliament representing the Pasir Ris West ward of Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC. On 1 August 2003, Teo was appointed Minister for Defence and Minister-in-charge of the Civil Service.
At the 2006 general election, Teo led a six-member PAP team to contest in Pasir-Ris Punggol GRC again and they won with 68.7% of the vote against the Singapore Democratic Alliance. He retained his parliamentary seat and continued holding his Cabinet portfolios. On 1 April 2009, Teo was appointed as one of two Deputy Prime Ministers, in addition to his portfolios as Minister for Defence and Minister-in-charge of the Civil Service.
Teo led a six-member PAP team to contest in Pasir-Ris Punggol GRC in the 2011 general election and they won with 64.79% of the vote against the Singapore Democratic Alliance. On 18 May 2011, Teo relinquished his Cabinet portfolio of Minister for Defence and took up the positions of Minister for Home Affairs and Coordinating Minister for National Security, while concurrently serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister-in-charge of the Civil Service.
On 1 May 2019, Teo relinquished his appointment as Deputy Prime Minister to become Senior Minister, while retaining his position as Coordinating Minister for National Security. In his new role, he also oversaw four departments under the Prime Minister's Office: Smart Nation and Digital Government Group, the National Security Coordination Secretariat, the National Population and Talent Division, and the National Climate Change Secretariat.
Personal life
Teo was married to Chew Poh Yim, the director of a business consultancy and part-time marketing management lecturer at Nanyang Polytechnic's School of Business Management. Chew graduated in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in biochemistry from the University of Manchester Ins*ute of Science and Technology. In 2015, she founded Stroke Support Station, a volunteer organisation providing *istance to stroke survivors and caregivers. Teo and Chew had one son and one daughter. Chew died on 31 October 2021 at the age of 67.
Teo was also the President of the Singapore National Olympic Council from 1984 to 2014, and an advisor to the Singapore Dragon Boat *ociation.
References
Bibliography
- (in Chinese) Liu, Changping & Zhang, He, 风雨晚晴园(不应忘却的辛亥革命勋臣张永福), 中国文史 (2011), ISBN:9787503431098
External links
- Teo Chee Hean on Singapore Prime Minister's Office
- Teo Chee Hean on Parliament of Singapore
- Teo Chee Hean on Twitter
- Teo Chee Hean on Facebook
All of the leaders of the respective GRCs are in underline. NMPs do not belong to any party.Other Current/Former MPs Nav Boxes1413121110The party affiliation of each member is indicated right after the cons*uency he or she represents. PAP: People's Action Party; WP: The Workers' Party
NMPs do not belong to any party. There were two terms of NMPs in this parliament, with nine NMPs in each term.Other Current/Former MPs Nav Boxes1413121110The party affiliation of each member is indicated right after the cons*uency he or she represents. PAP: People's Action Party; SPP: Singapore People's Party; WP: The Workers' Party
For NCMPs, Gerald Giam and Yee Jenn Jong are from the WP, while Lina Loh is from the SPP. NMPs do not belong to any party. There were two terms of NMPs in this parliament, with nine NMPs in each term.Other Current/Former MPs Nav Boxes1413121110The party affiliation of each member is indicated right after the cons*uency he or she represents. PAP: People's Action Party; SDA: Singapore Democratic Alliance; WP: The Workers' Party
NMPs do not belong to any party. There were two terms of NMPs in this parliament, with nine NMPs in each term.Other Current/Former MPs Nav Boxes1413121110