Yeo Cheow Tong (; born 22 June 1947) is a former Singaporean politician. 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 ...

(PAP), he served in the Cabinet from 1990 to 2006, and was a

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) of Hong Kah SMC from 12 December 1984 to 17 August 1988 and MP of

Hong Kah GRC Hong Kah Group Representation Constituency was a five-member Group Representation Constituency located in the western area of Singapore. The constituency covered the areas of Bukit Batok, Choa Chu Kang, Upper Bukit Timah, Jurong West and Li ...

from 24 August 1988 to 19 April 2011 for almost 27 years.

Early life

Yeo was educated at Anglo-Chinese School, before receiving a Colombo Plan Scholarship in 1967 to study at the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany and various other facilitie ...

, where he received a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) degree.

Career

He worked for Singapore's

Economic Development Board The Economic Development Board (EDB) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Government of Singapore that plans and executes strategies to sustain Singapore as a leading global hub for business and investment. His ...

(EDB) from 1972 to 1975, before entering the private sector. He entered politics in 1984. At the 1984 general election, Yeo was elected a Member of Parliament for Hong Kah constituency. In 1985, he was appointed a Minister of State at the Ministry of Health and

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

. In 1988, Yeo became the Acting Minister for Health, before becoming a full member of the Cabinet in 1990. He went on to hold a number of different Cabinet positions including

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. ...

(1990–94, 1997–99), Minister for Community Development (1991–94), Minister for Trade and Industry (1994–97), Minister for the Environment (1997–99), Minister for Communications and Information Technology (1999–2001), and

Minister for Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...

(2001–06). In June 2006, Yeo resigned from the Cabinet to return to the private sector. He continued to serve as a Member of Parliament for the Hong Kah Group Representation Constituency until 2011, when he retired from politics. He was succeeded by

Alex Yam Alex Yam Ziming ( zh, c=任梓铭, p=Rèn Zǐmíng; born 1981) is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Mayor of North West District since 2020. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has been the Member of Parliam ...

in the

2011 Singaporean general election General elections were held in Singapore on 7 May 2011. President S. R. Nathan dissolved parliament on 19 April 2011 on the advice of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Voting is mandatory in Singapore and is based on the first-past-the-post ...

Personal life

Yeo is married to lawyer Helen Yeo-Tan Cheng Hoong. The couple have three children and 6 grandchildren.

References

External links

Appointments of the Cabinet of SingaporeCV of Yeo Cheow Tong
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yeo, Cheow Tong Members of the Parliament of Singapore People's Action Party politicians Members of the Cabinet of Singapore Anglo-Chinese School alumni Singaporean people of Teochew descent 1947 births Living people Ministers for Transport of Singapore Ministers for Health of Singapore Communications ministers of Singapore Ministers for Trade and Industry of Singapore University of Western Australia alumni