Teo Chee Hean ( zh, s=张志贤, poj=Tiuⁿ Chì-hiân, p=Zhāng Zhìxián; born 27 December 1954) is a Singaporean politician and former two-star

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarded ...

who has been serving as

Senior Minister of Singapore Senior Minister of Singapore is a position in the Cabinet of Singapore. Holders of this office have served as either the prime minister or the deputy prime minister. Among the executive branch officeholders in the order of precedence, the posi ...

since 2019 and Coordinating Minister for National Security since 2015. A member of the governing

People's Action Party The People's Action Party (abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and ...

, he has been the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) representing the Pasir Ris West division of

Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC Pasil ( fa, پسيل, also Romanized as Pasīl; also known as Pasīr) is a village in Sepiddasht Rural District, Papi District, Khorramabad County, Lorestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 469, in 92 families. References

since 2001. A recipient of the

President's Scholar A President's Scholar is a recipient of the academic scholarship awarded by the Government of Singapore annually, to pursue undergraduate education at a university, usually abroad. The scholarship is considered to be the most prestigious public ...

ship and

Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship The SAF Scholarship, formerly known as the SAF Overseas Scholarship (SAFOS), is a scholarship conferred by the Public Service Commission (PSC). The scholarship is second in prestige to the President's Scholarship. Scholars are groomed for the h ...

, Teo served in the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) between 1972 and 1992, and attained the rank

Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarded ...

(Two-Star). He served as Chief of Navy between 1991 and 1992 before leaving the Navy and enter politcs. He made his political debut in the 1992 by-elections in

Marine Parade GRC The Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) located in the central, eastern and north-eastern areas of Singapore. The constituency consists of a section of Bedok, Chai Chee, Geyla ...

as part of a four-member PAP team. He had served as

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

between 2009 and 2019, Minister for the Environment between 1995 and 1997, Minister for Education between 1997 and 2003,

Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

between 2003 and 2011 and

Minister for Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergenc ...

between 2011 and 2015. Teo was part of the ministerial committee of the Smart Nation and Digital Government Group (SNDGG). Within the PAP, Teo was First Assistant Secretary-General in the party's Central Executive Committee (CEC) before he was succeeded by

Heng Swee Keat Heng Swee Keat (; born 15 April 1961) is a Singaporean politician, former police officer and civil servant who has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore since 2019 and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies since 2020 and als ...

in November 2018.

Education

Teo was educated at St. Joseph's Institution before he was awarded the

ship and

in 1973. He graduated from the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

in 1976 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

with first class honours degree in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

and

management science Management science (or managerial science) is a wide and interdisciplinary study of solving complex problems and making strategic decisions as it pertains to institutions, corporations, governments and other types of organizational entities. It is ...

. He subsequently went on to complete a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

with distinction degree in

computing science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

in 1977. He also completed a

Master of Public Administration The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...

degree at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

in 1986, where he was named a Littauer Fellow.

Career

Military career

Teo joined in the

Singapore Armed Forces The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military services of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A military component of the Ministry of Defence (MINDE ...

(SAF) in 1972 and was commissioned as a

naval officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

at the

SAFTI Military Institute The SAFTI Military Institute (SAFTI MI) is a military institute of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) comprising five schools: the Goh Keng Swee Command and Staff College, three SAF Advanced Schools, and the Officer Cadet School. Located on an ...

in 1973. He went on to hold various command and staff appointments in the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the Joint Staff before his appointment as Chief of Navy in 1991 with the rank of

(Two-Star) before leaving the SAF on 7 December 1992 to contest in the 1992 by-elections in

Political career

Teo made his political debut in the 1992 by-elections in

as part of a four-member PAP team led by Prime Minister

Goh Chok Tong Goh Chok Tong (; born 20 May 1941) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1990 and 2004, and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party between 1992 and 2004. He was the Parliament of Singapore, ...

. After the PAP team won 72.9% of the vote against three opposition parties, Teo was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the

Joo Chiat Joo Chiat Road is an arterial road and a residential conservation area in the eastern part of Singapore, and is located between Geylang Serai and Marine Parade Road. It is mainly bounded by conserved shophouses that are colourfully painted on b ...

ward of Marine Parade GRC. He was subsequently appointed as Minister of State for Finance, Minister of State for Communications and

Minister of State for Defence The Minister of State for Defence is a mid-level position in the Ministry of Defence in the British government. It is currently held by Baroness Goldie, who took the office on 26 July 2019. Responsibilities The minister has the following min ...

. In April 1995, Teo was appointed as Senior Minister of State for Defence and Acting Minister for the Environment. In January 1996, he was promoted to full Minister and given the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

portfolios of Minister for the Environment and Second Minister for Defence. Teo switched to contesting in

Pasir Ris GRC Pasir Ris Group Representation Constituency was a four member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) that locates in the eastern part of Singapore at Pasir Ris. It had only existed once in 1997 general election. This GRC was created from the ward ...

during the 1997 general election and the four-member PAP team led by him won 70.9% of the vote against the Workers' Party. Teo thus elected as the MP 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. During the 2001 general election, Teo led the five-member PAP team contesting in the newly formed

and won an uncontested walkover. After winning the general election, he continued to hold his previous Cabinet portfolios while becoming the MP representing the Pasir Ris West ward of Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC. On 1 August 2003, Teo was appointed as

and Minister-in-charge of the Civil Service. During the 2006 general election, Teo led a six-member PAP team to contest in Pasir–Ris Punggol GRC again and won 68.7% of the vote against the

Singapore Democratic Alliance The Singapore Democratic Alliance (abbreviation: SDA) is a political coalition between the National Solidarity Party (NSP) and Singapore Justice Party (SJP) in Singapore. History Prior to the founding in 2001, then-opposition Member of Parli ...

. He retained his parliamentary seat and continued holding his Cabinet portfolios. On 1 April 2009, Teo was appointed as one of two

s, 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 won 64.79% of the vote against the

. On 18 May 2011, Teo relinquished his Cabinet portfolio of Minister for Defence and took up the positions of

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

to become a 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,

National Security Coordination Secretariat The National Security Coordination Secretariat (NSCS) is a department under the Ministry of Defence of the Government of Singapore. Established in 1999, it was tasked to strengthen coordination amongst Singapore's existing security agencies; Sin ...

, National Population and Talent Division, and the National Climate Change Secretariat.

Personal life

Teo was married to Chew Poh Yim, who was the director of the business consultancy and part-time marketing management at

Nanyang Polytechnic Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) is a post-secondary education institution and statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Education in Singapore. History Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) was established on 1 April 1992, and enrolled its first ba ...

's School of Business Management. Chew graduated from the

University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for research. On 1 Oct ...

in 1977 with a

with honours degree in

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

. In 2015, she founded Stroke Support Station, a volunteering organisation that provides assistance to stroke survivors and caregivers. Chew died on 31 October 2021 at the age of 67. The couple have one son and one daughter. Teo was also President of the

Singapore National Olympic Council The Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) is the National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee for the Republic of Singapore. It was founded in 1947 as the Singapore Olympic and Sports Council (SOSC) before renaming to its curr ...

(SNOC) between 1984 and 2014, and an advisor to the Singapore Dragon Boat Association.

References

Bibliography

* 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),

External links

Teo Chee Hean
on Singapore Prime Minister's Office
Teo Chee Hean
on

Parliament of Singapore The Parliament of Singapore is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Singapore, which governs the country alongside the president of Singapore. Largely based upon the Westminster system, the Parliament is made up of Members of Parliam ...

* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Teo, Chee Hean 1954 births Living people Alumni of the University of London Alumni of the Department of Computing, Imperial College London Alumni of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology Deputy Prime Ministers of Singapore Environment ministers of Singapore Ministers for Defence of Singapore Members of the Parliament of Singapore People's Action Party politicians President's Scholars Recipients of the Olympic Order Saint Joseph's Institution, Singapore alumni Singaporean people of Teochew descent Harvard Kennedy School alumni Chiefs of the Republic of Singapore Navy Ministers for Education of Singapore Ministers for Home Affairs of Singapore Members of the Cabinet of Singapore