Teo Chee Hean

Teo Chee Hean (simplified Chinese: 张志贤; traditional Chinese: 張志賢; pinyin: Zhāng Zhìxián; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tioⁿ Chì-hiân; Tamil: தியோ சீ ஹியென்; born 27 December 1954) is a Singaporean politician. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he was appointed as the Senior Minister & Coordinating Minister for National Security by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.


Teo Chee Hean

张志贤
Teo Chee Hean at The Pentagon in 2008
5th Senior Minister of Singapore
Assumed office
1 May 2019
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded by
ConstituencyPasir Ris–Punggol GRC
Coordinating Minister for National Security
Assumed office
21 May 2011
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded byWong Kan Seng
ConstituencyPasir Ris–Punggol GRC
Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
In office
1 April 2009  30 April 2019
President
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded byS. Jayakumar
Succeeded byHeng Swee Keat
Minister for Home Affairs
In office
21 May 2011  30 September 2015
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded byK. Shanmugam
Succeeded byK. Shanmugam
Minister for Defence
In office
1 August 2003  20 May 2011
Prime MinisterGoh Chok Tong
Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded byTony Tan Keng Yam
Succeeded byNg Eng Hen
Minister for Education
In office
1997  1 August 2003
Prime MinisterGoh Chok Tong
Preceded byLee Yock Suan
Succeeded byTharman Shanmugaratnam
Member of Parliament, Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC
(Pasir Ris West)
Assumed office
17 October 2001
Preceded byhimself (Pasir Ris GRC:Pasir Ris Loyang)
Member of Parliament, Pasir Ris GRC
(Pasir Ris Loyang)
In office
26 June 1997  17 October 2001
Preceded byCharles Chong (Eunos GRC-Pasir Ris)
Succeeded byhimself (Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC:Pasir Ris West ward)
Member of Parliament, Marine Parade GRC (Joo Chiat)
In office
20 December 1992  15 December 1996
Preceded byLim Chee Onn
Succeeded byChan Soo Sen (East Coast GRC:Joo Chiat)
ConstituencyPasir Ris–Punggol GRC
Personal details
Born (1954-12-27) 27 December 1954
Singapore, Colony of Singapore
Political partyPeople's Action Party (1992)
Spouse(s)Chew Poh Yim
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Manchester
Imperial College London
Harvard University
Military service
Branch/service Republic of Singapore Navy
Years of service1972–1992
Rank Rear-Admiral
CommandsChief of Navy (1991-92)

Since 1 May 2019, he stepped down as the Deputy Prime Minister. He also oversees the Prime Minister’s Office Strategy Group, including the Smart Nation and Digital Government Group, the National Security Coordination Secretariat, the National Population and Talent Division and the National Climate Change Secretariat.

In the first phase of his career, he served in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) where he held various command and staff appointments in the Republic of Singapore Navy and the Joint Staff. In 1991, he was appointed Chief of Navy, and was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral.

In December 1992, he left the SAF to seek elected public office and was elected as a Member of Parliament in a by-election in the Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency (GRC). He was re-elected to Parliament five times in the Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC and was an MP for Pasir Ris West.

He served as the Deputy Prime Minister from 1 April 2009 to 30 April 2019 for a decade when former officeholders, S. Jayakumar and Wong Kan Seng both stepped down from the position. He had served as the Minister for Home Affairs, Minister for Defence, Minister for Education, and Minister for the Environment. He has also served as Minister of State in the Ministries of Communications and Information, Finance and Defence.

Career

Teo enlisted in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in 1972 and received his commission as a naval officer at the Singapore Armed Forces Training Institute (SAFTI) in 1973. He went on to hold various command and staff appointments in the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the Joint Staff.

Teo assumed command of the RSN as Chief of Navy in 1991 and was promoted to the rank of Commodore (later re-designated as Rear-Admiral) in July 1991.

On 7 December 1992, Teo left the RSN to seek election into Parliament.

Political career

Teo was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency (Marine Parade GRC) in the Marine Parade by-election on 19 December 1992.

Following his election, Teo served as a Minister of State in the Ministries of Finance, Communications and Defence.

In April 1995, Teo was appointed the Acting Minister for the Environment and Senior Minister of State for Defence. In January 1996, he was appointed Minister for the Environment and Second Minister for Defence.

At the 1997 general election, Teo was elected as an MP for Pasir Ris GRC. In the subsequent Cabinet reshuffle, he was appointed the Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence.

At the 2001 general election, Teo was elected as an MP for Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC and re-appointed as Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence. On 1 August 2003, he was appointed the Minister for Defence and Minister-in-charge of the Civil Service.

At the 2006 general election, Teo was re-elected as an MP for Pasir-Ris Punggol GRC. He led the team six-member PAP team to victory in the constituency with 68.7% of the votes.

On 26 March 2009, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong appointed Teo as one of two Deputy Prime Ministers with effect from 1 April 2009. He held this appointment alongside his roles of Minister for Defence and Minister-in-charge of the Civil Service.

At the 2011 general election, Teo led the PAP team in Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC to victory with 64.79% of the votes.

On 18 May 2011, Teo was appointed the Minister for Home Affairs and Co-ordinating Minister for National Security. He remains as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister-in-charge of the Civil Service.

Within the PAP, Teo is the First Assistant Secretary General on the party's Central Executive Committee, a post he held until 2018.[1]

On 23 April 2019, the Prime Minister Office's latest cabinet reshuffle announced that he, alongside Tharman Shanmugaratnam, would both be relinquishing their respective Deputy Prime Minister portfolio to Heng Swee Keat, and they would be conferred the Senior Minister post effective from 1 May onwards, while retaining his Co-ordinating Minister for National Defense portfolio.[2]

Involvement in the Singapore sports scene

Teo serves in leadership and advisory roles in several sports organisations in Singapore. He served as the President of the Singapore National Olympic Council from 1984-2014. He is also the advisor to the Singapore Dragon Boat Association.

Education

Teo Chee Hean went to Saint Michael's School and Saint Joseph's Institution. He was awarded the President's Scholarship and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Scholarship in 1973. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science (First Class Honours) in Electrical Engineering and Management Science from the University of Manchester in 1976. He subsequently studied at Imperial College in London and was awarded Masters of Science degree (with distinction) in Computing Science from University of London in 1977. He later earned Masters in Public Administration from Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1986, where he was named a Littauer Fellow.

Family

Teo is married to Chew Poh Yim. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Biochemistry from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology in 1977. She is a director of a business consultancy and teaches marketing management in the School of Business Management at Nanyang Polytechnic on a part-time basis. The couple has one son and one daughter.

References

  1. PAP appoints Khaw Boon Wan as chairman Archived 2011-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, channelnewsasia.com, 1 June 2011
  2. "Heng Swee Keat to be promoted to DPM in Cabinet reshuffle". Channel NewsAsia. 23 Apr 2019. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 Apr 2019.

Bibliography

Political offices
Preceded by
Mah Bow Tan
Minister for the Environment
15 Jan 1996 – 24 Jan 1997
Acting: 17 Apr 1995 – 14 Jan 1996
Succeeded by
Lim Swee Say
Recreated
Title last held by
Lee Boon Yang
Second Minister for Defence
15 Jan 1996 – 31 Jul 2003
Succeeded by
Ng Eng Hen
Preceded by
Lee Yock Suan
Minister for Education
25 Jan 1997 – 31 Jul 2003
Succeeded by
Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Preceded by
Tony Tan
Minister for Defence
1 Aug 2003 – 20 May 2011
Succeeded by
Ng Eng Hen
Preceded by
S. Jayakumar
Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
1 Apr 2009 – 30 April 2019
Served alongside: Wong Kan Seng (2005 – 2011),
Tharman Shanmugaratnam (2011 – present)
Succeeded by
Heng Swee Keat
Preceded by
K. Shanmugam
Minister for Home Affairs
21 May 2011 – 30 Sep 2015
Succeeded by
K. Shanmugam
Preceded by
Wong Kan Seng
Co-ordinating Minister for National Security
21 May 2011 – present
Incumbent
Parliament of Singapore
Preceded by
Lim Chee Onn
Member of Parliament for
Marine Parade GRC (Joo Chiat)

1992 – 1997
Succeeded by
Chan Soo Sen
as MP for East Coast GRC (Joo Chiat)
New constituency Member of Parliament for
Pasir Ris GRC (Pasir Ris Loyang)

1997 – 2001
Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament for
Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC (Pasir Ris West)

2001 – present
Incumbent
Military offices
Preceded by
Rear-Admiral James Leo
Chief of the Republic of Singapore Navy
1991 – 1992
Succeeded by
Rear-Admiral Kwek Siew Jin
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