Edmund W. Barker
Edmund William Barker | |
---|---|
![]() Photo of Edmund W. Barker as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore between 1963 and 1964 | |
Minister for Law | |
In office 1 November 1964 – 12 September 1988 | |
Prime Minister | Lee Kuan Yew |
Preceded by | Kenneth Michael Byrne |
Succeeded by | S. Jayakumar |
Minister for the Environment | |
In office 2 June 1975 – 31 January 1979 | |
Prime Minister | Lee Kuan Yew |
Preceded by | Lim Kim San |
Succeeded by | Lim Kim San |
Minister for Science and Technology | |
In office 26 September 1977 – 1 April 1981 | |
Prime Minister | Lee Kuan Yew |
Preceded by | Jek Yeun Thong |
Succeeded by | Office abolished |
Minister for Home Affairs | |
In office 16 September 1972 – 31 October 1972 | |
Prime Minister | Lee Kuan Yew |
Preceded by | Wong Lin Ken |
Succeeded by | Chua Sian Chin |
Minister for National Development | |
In office 9 August 1965 – 2 June 1975 | |
Prime Minister | Lee Kuan Yew |
Preceded by | Lim Kim San |
Succeeded by | Lim Kim San |
Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Singapore | |
In office 25 November 1964[1] – 9 August 1965 | |
Preceded by | Ho See Beng |
Succeeded by | office abolished |
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore | |
In office 22 October 1963 – 1 November 1964 | |
Deputy | Dr Fong Kim Heng[2] |
Preceded by | Sir George Oehlers |
Succeeded by | Arumugam Ponnu Rajah |
Member of Parliament for Tanglin | |
In office 21 September 1963 – 17 August 1988 | |
Preceded by | Thio Chan Bee |
Succeeded by | Lew Syn Pau |
Personal details | |
Born | Singapore, Straits Settlements | 1 December 1920
Died | 12 April 2001 Singapore | (aged 80)
Cause of death | Colon Surgery |
Resting place | Bidadari Cemetery, Singapore |
Nationality | Singaporean |
Political party | ![]() |
Spouse(s) | Gloria Hyacinth Quintal
(m. 1948–2001) |
Children | 4 |
Mother | Dorothy Evaline Paterson |
Father | Clarence Barker |
Alma mater | St Catharine's College, Cambridge |
Edmund William Barker DUNU (First Class) SPMJ (1 December 1920 – 12 April 2001, often referred to as "Edmund W. Barker", "E. W. Barker" or "Eddie Barker"), was a politician and lawyer from Singapore.
A member of the People's Action Party (PAP), he served in the Cabinet from 1964 to 1988. He served as Leader of the House from 16 April 1968 to 1 January 1985.
Early life[]
Born in Singapore on 1 December 1920, he was a Eurasian Singaporean,[3] Barker was the son of Clarence Barker and Dorothy Evaline Paterson.
E. W. Barker was of mixed- Portuguese, Irish, Japanese, Scottish, Malay and German descent. His great-great grandfather was Thomas Owen Crane (1799-1869), an Irishman and one of the first ten Europeans to settle in Singapore and his great-great-great grandfather was Sir (Dr) Jose D Almeida, (1784-1850), a Portuguese doctor and well-known businessman in early Singapore.
Barker was educated at Serangoon English School and Raffles Institution, before going on to Raffles College (a predecessor institution of the present-day National University of Singapore) in 1940. A talented sports player, Barker was selected to represent Singapore as a member of the national hockey team while he was still a schoolboy. He is also known as a guitar player.[4]
During World War II, Barker traveled to Thailand as part of a medical health unit which was sent to look after Allied POWs working on the Burma-Siam Railway.
After the war, Barker was awarded a Queen's Scholarship in 1946 to study in the United Kingdom at Cambridge University, where he read law at St Catharine's College. He was then called to the bar at the Inner Temple in London, and returned to Singapore to practice law.[5]
Career[]
Barker practised law in Singapore from 1956 to 1964 at the law firms Braddell Brothers and Lee & Lee. He was persuaded to enter politics in 1963 by Lee Kuan Yew.
Barker was elected a member of the Singapore Legislative Assembly in 1963, representing the constituency of Tanglin. He continued to represent the constituency in the Singapore Parliament to 1988.
Barker served as the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 1963 to 1964.[6] In 1964, he was appointed the Minister for Law, and continued to hold that post until 1988. As Minister for Law, he drafted the Proclamation of Singapore in 1965, announcing Singapore's separation from Malaysia. During his 25 years in Parliament, Barker also served as the Minister for National Development (1965���75), Minister for Home Affairs (1972), Minister for the Environment (1975–1979), Minister for Science and Technology (1977–81) and Minister for Labour (1983).[7]
Barker retired from politics in 1988. (1963–1988)
Other roles Barker held included being the first President of the Singapore National Olympic Council (1970-1990), President of the South-East Asia Peninsular Games Federation Council (1973), Chairman of the Bukit Turf Club (1989–`994), and Chairman of the Singapore Stock Exchange (1989–1993).
Death[]
Barker died on 12 April 2001 at 12:40 pm at the National University Hospital, after two months of intensive care following an emergency colon surgery in February 2001. He left behind his wife Gloria Hyacinth Quintal and four children.[5]
References[]
- ^ "PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES DEWAN RA'AYAT (HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES) OFFICIAL REPORT" (PDF). Dewan Rakyat. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
- ^ "Speakers of Parliament". Parliament of Singapore. Archived from the original on 21 January 2020.
Scroll to bottom and expand the list of former Deputy Speaker
- ^ The New Eurasian, April-June 2010. Archived 27 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Barker, Victoria. "Meet this Barker!". my paper. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "E.W Barker". History Blog. 28 August 2007. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ "Singapore Parliament, List of Former Speakers". Archived from the original on 21 January 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ "Barker, Edmund William (E. W. Barker)". National Library Board. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- Lam, Peng Er & Tan, Kevin Y.L. (1999). Lee's Lieutenants. South Wind Production. ISBN 1-86448-639-2.
- "Old guard Stalwart Eddie Barker dies", The Straits Times, (2001, April 13), p1
- "The reluctant politician", The Straits Times, Home, (2001, April 13), p2
- "Breadwinner", (1970, May 8), The Straits Times, p6
External links[]
- 1920 births
- 2001 deaths
- People's Action Party politicians
- Queen's Scholars (British Malaya and Singapore)
- Raffles Institution alumni
- Singaporean people of German descent
- Singaporean people of Irish descent
- Singaporean politicians of Japanese descent
- Singaporean people of Malay descent
- Singaporean people of Portuguese descent
- Singaporean people of Scottish descent
- Speakers of the Parliament of Singapore
- Members of the Dewan Rakyat
- Members of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore
- Burma Railway prisoners
- Ministers for Law of Singapore
- Environment ministers of Singapore
- Ministers for Home Affairs of Singapore
- Ministers for Labour of Singapore