Teo Chee Hean

The Honourable Teo Chee Hean
张志贤
5th Senior Minister of Singapore
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 May 2019 Serving with Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Seat Vacant
Coordinating Minister for National Security
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 May 2011
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Wong Kan Seng
Constituency	Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC
Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
In office 1 April 2009 – 30 April 2019 Serving with Tharman Shanmugaratnam
President	See list S. R. Nathan Tony Tan Halimah Yacob
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	S. Jayakumar
Succeeded by	Heng Swee Keat
Minister for Home Affairs
In office 21 May 2011 – 30 September 2015
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	K. Shanmugam
Succeeded by	K. Shanmugam
Minister for Defence
In office 1 August 2003 – 20 May 2011
Prime Minister	See list Goh Chok Tong Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Tony Tan Keng Yam
Succeeded by	Ng Eng Hen
Minister for Education
In office 25 January 1997 – 31 July 2003
Prime Minister	Goh Chok Tong
Preceded by	Lee Yock Suan
Succeeded by	Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC (Pasir Ris West)
Incumbent
Assumed office 17 October 2001
Preceded by	himself (Pasir Ris GRC:Pasir Ris Loyang)
Majority	44,466 (28.30%)
Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris GRC (Pasir Ris Loyang)
In office 26 June 1997 – 17 October 2001
Preceded by	Charles Chong (Eunos GRC-Pasir Ris)
Succeeded by	himself (Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC:Pasir Ris West ward)
Member of Parliament for Marine Parade GRC (Joo Chiat)
In office 20 December 1992 – 15 December 1996
Preceded by	Lim Chee Onn
Succeeded by	Chan Soo Sen (East Coast GRC:Joo Chiat)
Constituency	Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC
Personal details
Born	(1954-12-27) 27 December 1954 Singapore
Political party	People's Action Party (1992)
Spouse(s)	Chew Poh Yim
Children	2
Alma mater	University of Manchester Imperial College London Harvard University
Signature
Military service
Branch/service	Republic of Singapore Navy
Years of service	1972–1992
Rank	Rear-Admiral
Commands	Chief of Navy (1991-92)

In this Singaporean name, the family name is Teo.

Teo Chee Hean (Chinese: 张志贤; pinyin: Zhāng Zhìxián; born 27 December 1954) is a Singaporean politician 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 a Member of Parliament representing the Pasir Ris West ward of Pasir Ris–Punggol Group Representation Constituency (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 in 1972 and held various staff and command positions before rising to the rank of Rear-Admiral. He served as Chief of Navy from 1991 to 1992 before retiring from the military. He was elected as a Member of Parliament after winning the 1992 by-election in Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency (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 Assistant Secretary-General in the party's Central Executive Committee until he was replaced by Heng Swee Keat in November 2018.

Background

Teo attended St. Joseph's Institution 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 Class 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.

Military career

Teo enlisted in the Singapore Armed Forces in 1972 and was commissioned as a naval officer at the SAFTI Military Institute 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 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 Constituency (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 is 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 Institute of Science and Technology. Teo and Chew have one son and one daughter.

Teo was also the President of the Singapore National Olympic Council from 1984 to 2014, and an advisor to the Singapore Dragon Boat Association.

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