Teo Chee Hean

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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	show 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	show 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 (age 66) 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)

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 Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Teo is currently the acting Prime Minister in Lee Hsien Loong's absence as Heng Swee Keat announced that he is stepping aside as the leader of the 4G team, paving the way for a younger person to lead the country.

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[]

Naval 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. He has been placed in charge of leading the Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC.

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] Teo also oversees the Smart Nation and Digital Government Group, the National Security Coordination Secretariat, the National Population and Talent Division and the National Climate Change Secretariat under the Prime Minister's Office.^[3]

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 to 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 . 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[]

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[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Teo Chee Hean.

• Teo Chee Hean on Singapore Prime Minister's Office
• Teo Chee Hean on Parliament of Singapore
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