Teo Chee Hean

Teo Chee Hean MP
张志贤
File:Teo Chee Hean.jpg Teo Chee Hean at the Shangri-La Hotel Singapore on 3 June 2006
Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 April 2009 Serving with Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	S. Jayakumar
Constituency	Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC
Co-ordinating Minister for National Security
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 May 2011
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Wong Kan Seng
Minister for Home Affairs
In office 21 May 2011 – 30 Sep 2015
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	K. Shanmugam
Minister for Defence
In office 1 August 2003 – 20 May 2011
Prime Minister	Goh Chok Tong Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Tony Tan Keng Yam
Succeeded by	Ng Eng Hen
Minister for Education
In office 1997 – 1 August 2003
Prime Minister	Goh Chok Tong
Preceded by	Lee Yock Suan
Succeeded by	Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Member of Parliament, Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC (Pasir Ris West)
Incumbent
Assumed office 25 March 2002 Serving with Zainal Sapari, Sun Xue Ling, Ng Chee Meng, Janil Puthucheary, Teo Ser Luck
Preceded by	himself (Pasir Ris GRC:Pasir Ris West ward)
Member of Parliament, Pasir Ris GRC (Pasir Ris West)
In office 26 June 1997 – 17 October 2001
Preceded by	GRC created out of Pasir Ris of Eunos GRC
Succeeded by	himself (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 by	Lim Chee Onn
Succeeded by	Chan Soo Sen (East Coast GRC:Joo Chiat ward)
Personal details
Born	(1954-12-27) 27 December 1954 Singapore
Political party	People's Action Party
Spouse(s)	Chew Poh Yim
Children	2
Alma mater	UMIST Imperial College London Harvard University
Military service
Service/branch	Republic of Singapore Navy
Years of service	1972–1992
Rank	Rear-Admiral
Commands	Chief of Navy (1991-92)

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Teo.

Teo Chee Hean (simplified Chinese: 张志贤; traditional Chinese: 張志賢; pinyin: Zhāng Zhìxián; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tiuⁿ Chì-hiân; born 27 December 1954) is a Singaporean politician. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he is currently one of the country's Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Home Affairs, Co-ordinating Minister for National Security and Minister-in-charge of the Civil Service. He has previously served as the Minister for Defence (2003–11), Minister for Education (1997–2003) and Minister for the Environment (1996–97). He has been a Member of Parliament (MP) since 1992.

Prior to entering politics, Teo was a Rear Admiral in the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), and served as Singapore's Chief of Navy from 1991-92.

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.

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.

Involvement in the Singapore sports scene

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

Education

Teo was educated at Saint Michael's School and Saint Joseph's Institution, before being awarded a President's Scholarship and Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Scholarship in 1973 to study in the United Kingdom at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science (First Class Honours) degree in electrical engineering and management science in 1976. He then continued his studies at Imperial College London, obtaining a Master of Science degree (with distinction) in Computer science in 1977. In 1986, Teo completed a Master of Public Administration degree at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and 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.

According to an account by Teo Moh Tee (the daughter of Teo Eng Hock), the earliest forebear of the Teo family migrated to Singapore from Raoping County in Guangdong Province not long after the founding of Singapore in 1819; he then fathered Teo Chee Hean's great-great-grandfather, Teo Lee, who was born in Singapore in 1833 and married Tan Poh Neo (a fellow Teochew Peranakan and the granddaughter of Tan Hong Khuay, the Kapitan Cina of Muntok). The above-mentioned Teo Eng Hock was the eldest son of Teo Lee and the elder brother of Teo Bah Tan (Teo Chee Hean's great-grandfather). Teo Eng Hock prospered as a businessman who owned rubber plantations in the northern part of Singapore; he also leased to Sun Yat-sen the use of his villa (now known as Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall) as the Singapore branch of the Tongmenghui (Chinese Revolutionary Alliance).

Teo Chee Hean's grandfather, Teo Beng Wan (son of the above-mentioned Teo Bah Tan), was a banking executive for the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), which actively led in raising war relief funds for the Second Sino-Japanese War. When the Japanese invaded Singapore in 1942, Teo Beng Wan was rounded up by the Japanese forces and presumably killed as part of the Sook Ching massacre; his son, Teo Cheng Guan (father of Teo Chee Hean), started his career at OCBC and served as its Chairman from 1989 to 1991.

Genealogy

16. Teo Lee

8. Teo Bah Tan

17. Tan Poh Neo

4. Teo Beng Wan

2. Teo Cheng Guan

1. Teo Chee Hean

3. Tan Suang

Bibliography

• (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

• Teo Chee Hean at cabinet.gov.sg
• Teo Chee Hean at parliament.gov.sg
• Teo Chee Hean's Twitter Profile
• Teo Chee Hean's Facebook Page

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 – present Served alongside: Wong Kan Seng (2005 – 2011), Tharman Shanmugaratnam (2011 – present)	Incumbent
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
Military offices
Preceded by Rear-Admiral James Leo	Chief of the Republic of Singapore Navy 1991 – 1992	Succeeded by Rear-Admiral Kwek Siew Jin