Dan Tehan

Tehan was born on 27 January 1968 in Melbourne,[1] the third of six children born to Jim and Marie Tehan (née O'Brien).[2] His mother was elected to the Parliament of Victoria in 1987 and served as a state government minister, while his father was a country vice-president of the Liberal Party of Australia (Victorian Division). Tehan grew up on the family's farming property near Mansfield, Victoria. His paternal grandfather Jim Tehan helped establish the National Farmers' Federation.[3] His mother and aunt both died of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease.[2]

Tehan attended a Catholic primary school and a public high school in country Victoria before completing his education as a boarder at Xavier College, Melbourne.[4] He holds the degrees of Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) from the University of Melbourne, Master of Foreign Affairs and Trade from Monash University, and Master of International Relations from the University of Kent in England.[1]

Tehan worked with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade from 1995 to 1998 and then was a member of the diplomatic service from 1999 to 2001.[1] He was posted to Mexico City and was also involved with Central America and Cuba.[3] In 2002 he was seconded to the office of Trade Minister Mark Vaile. When Vaile became deputy prime minister in 2005 Tehan remained with him as a senior adviser. He later served as chief of staff to Fran Bailey, the Minister for Small Business and Tourism. After the defeat of the Howard Government, he served as director of trade policy and international affairs with the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (2007–2008) and deputy state director of the Liberal Party in Victoria (2008–2009).[1]

Tehan was elected to the House of Representatives at the 2010 federal election, succeeding David Hawker in the Division of Wannon. He was encouraged to run for Liberal preselection by Denis Napthine, a family friend, and beat nine other candidates in the ballot despite his lack of prior connections with the area.[3] He and his family moved to Hamilton in order to live in the electorate.[5]

On 13 February 2016 it was announced that Tehan would be appointed the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, the Minister for Defence Materiel, and the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC following a rearrangement in the First Turnbull Ministry.[6]

With the reelection of the Turnbull Government after the 2016 election, Tehan kept his Veterans' Affairs and Centenary of ANZAC portfolios and moved from Defence Materiel to Defence Personnel in the Second Turnbull Ministry.[7] In the fourth rearrangement of the same Turnbull ministry, on 20 December 2017 Tehan was promoted to the Minister for Social Services and serves as a member of the Cabinet.[8] On 28 August 2018, Tehan was sworn into the role of Minister for Education in the first Morrison Ministry.[9] The Sydney Morning Herald described his first ministries as being notable, not for announcements, as for internal departmental problem solving.[10]

On 18 December 2020, Tehan was moved to the trade portfolio.[11]

• Official website
• Search or browse Hansard for Dan Tehan at OpenAustralia.org