Teo Chee Hean | |
|---|---|
张志贤 | |
 Official portrait, 2021 | |
| Senior Minister of Singapore | |
| In office 1 May 2019 – 22 May 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Lee Hsien Loong Lawrence Wong |
| Preceded by | Vacant |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| Coordinating Minister for National Security | |
| In office 21 May 2011 – 22 May 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Lee Hsien Loong Lawrence Wong |
| Preceded by | Wong Kan Seng |
| Succeeded by | K. Shanmugam |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore | |
| In office 1 April 2009 – 30 April 2019 Serving with Tharman Shanmugaratnam | |
| Prime Minister | Lee Hsien Loong |
| Preceded by | S. Jayakumar Wong Kan Seng |
| Succeeded by | Heng Swee Keat Lawrence Wong |
| Minister for Home Affairs | |
| In office 21 May 2011 – 30 September 2015 | |
| Prime Minister | Lee Hsien Loong |
| Second Minister | S. Iswaran Masagos Zulkifli |
| Preceded by | K. Shanmugam |
| Succeeded by | K. Shanmugam |
| Minister for Defence | |
| In office 1 August 2003 – 20 May 2011 | |
| Prime Minister | Goh Chok Tong Lee Hsien Loong |
| Second Minister | Ng Eng Hen |
| Preceded by | Tony Tan |
| 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 |
| Minister for the Environment | |
| In office 15 January 1996 – 24 January 1997 Acting: 17 April 1995 – 14 January 1996 | |
| Prime Minister | Goh Chok Tong |
| Preceded by | Mah Bow Tan |
| Succeeded by | Yeo Cheow Tong |
| Member of theSingapore Parliament forPasir Ris–Punggol GRC | |
| In office 25 October 2001 – 15 April 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Indranee Rajah Pasir Ris–Changi GRC (Pasir Ris West) |
| Member of theSingapore Parliament forPasir Ris GRC | |
| In office 2 January 1997 – 18 October 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Member of theSingapore Parliament forMarine Parade GRC | |
| In office 19 December 1992 – 15 December 1996 | |
| Preceded by | Lim Chee Onn |
| Succeeded by | Chan Soo Sen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1954-12-27)27 December 1954 (age 70)[1] |
| Political party | People's Action Party |
| Spouse | Chew Poh Yim (died 2021) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University of Manchester (BS) Imperial College London (MS) Harvard University (MPA) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | Republic of Singapore Navy |
| Years of service | 1972–1992 |
| Rank | Rear-Admiral |
Teo Chee HeanPPA(E) (Chinese:张志贤;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Tioⁿ Chì-hiân;pinyin:Zhāng Zhìxián; born 27 December 1954)[1] is a Singaporean former politician and two-starrear-admiral who served asSenior Minister of Singapore andCoordinating Minister for National Security from 2019 and 2015 respectively until 2025. He served as theMember of Parliament (MP) representing thePasir Ris West division ofPasir Ris–Punggol Group Representation Constituency from 2001 to 2025.
A recipient of thePresident's Scholarship andSingapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship, Teo served in theRepublic of Singapore Navy (RSN) between 1972 and 1992, and attained the rank ofRear-Admiral (Two-Star). He served as Chief of Navy in 1991 and 1992 before leaving the Navy and entering politics.
He made his political debut in the1992 by-election inMarine Parade GRC as part of a four-member PAP team. He had served as 6thDeputy Prime Minister between 2009 and 2019,Minister for the Environment between 1995 and 1997,Minister for Education between 1997 and 2003,Minister for Defence between 2003 and 2011 andMinister for Home Affairs between 2011 and 2015. Teo was part of the ministerial committee of the Smart Nation and Digital Government Group (SNDGG). As Senior Minister, Teo had served as acting prime minister in several occasions, during Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong's absence.
Within the PAP, Teo was First Assistant Secretary-General in the party'sCentral Executive Committee (CEC) before he was succeeded byHeng Swee Keat in November 2018.[2]
Teo was educated atSt. Joseph's Institution before he was awarded thePresident's Scholarship andSingapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship in 1973. He graduated from theUniversity of Manchester in 1976 with aBachelor of Science with first class honours degree inelectrical engineering andmanagement science.
He subsequently went on to complete aMaster of Science with distinction degree incomputing science atImperial College London in 1977. He also completed aMaster of Public Administration degree atHarvard Kennedy School in 1986, where he was named a Littauer Fellow.
Teo joined theSingapore Armed Forces (SAF) in 1972 and was commissioned as anaval officer at theSAFTI Military Institute in 1973. He went on to hold various command and staff appointments in theRepublic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the Joint Staff before his appointment asChief of Navy in 1991 with the rank ofRear-Admiral (Two-Star) before leaving the SAF on 7 December 1992 to contest in the1992 by-elections inMarine Parade GRC.
Teo was awarded theCommendation Medal (Silver) (Military) and thePublic Administration Medal (Gold) (Military) in the 1981 and 1992 National Day Awards respectively.[3]
Teo made his political debut in the1992 by-elections inMarine Parade GRC as part of a four-member PAP team led by Prime MinisterGoh Chok Tong. After the PAP team won 72.9% of the vote against three opposition parties, Teo was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) representing theJoo Chiat ward of Marine Parade GRC. He was subsequently appointed asMinister of State for Finance,Minister of State for Communications andMinister of State for Defence.
In April 1995, Teo was appointed asSenior Minister of State for Defence and ActingMinister for the Environment. In January 1996, he was promoted to full Minister and given theCabinet portfolios of Minister for the Environment and Second Minister for Defence.
Teo switched to contesting inPasir Ris GRC during the1997 general election and the four-member PAP team led by him won 70.9% of the vote against theWorkers' Party. Teo thus elected as the MP representing thePasir Ris Loyang ward of Pasir Ris GRC. In subsequent Cabinet reshuffles, he becameMinister for Education while continuing to serve as Second Minister for Defence.
During the2001 general election, Teo led the five-member PAP team contesting in the newly formedPasir Ris–Punggol GRC and won an uncontested walkover. After winning the general election, he continued to hold his previous Cabinet portfolios while becoming the MP representing thePasir Ris West ward of Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC. On 1 August 2003, Teo was appointed asMinister for Defence andMinister-in-charge of the Civil Service.
During the2006 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 theSingapore Democratic Alliance. He retained his parliamentary seat and continued holding his Cabinet portfolios. On 1 April 2009, Teo was appointed as one of twoDeputy Prime Ministers, 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 the2011 general election and won 64.79% of the vote against theSingapore Democratic Alliance. On 18 May 2011, Teo relinquished his Cabinet portfolio of Minister for Defence and took up the positions ofMinister for Home Affairs andCoordinating 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 asDeputy Prime Minister to become aSenior Minister, while retaining his position asCoordinating Minister for National Security.[4] In his new role, he also oversaw four departments under thePrime Minister's Office;Smart Nation and Digital Government Group,National Security Coordination Secretariat, National Population and Talent Division, and theNational Climate Change Secretariat.[5]
On 21 April 2025, Teo announced that he will not be contesting for thePasir Ris–Changi GRC in the2025 general election.[6]
On 23 April, on the Nomination Day for the2025 general election, Teo was not nominated as a candidate for any constituencies. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong later then announced Teo's retirement from politics in a Facebook post.[7] Teo was then appointed Senior Advisor in thePrime Minister's Office.
On 6 June 2025,Temasek Holdings announced that Teo will join its board of director on 1 July and succeedLim Boon Heng as chairman on 9 October.[8] On 10 June,GIC announced that Teo has resigned from its board of directors and as chairman of its international advisory board, effective 30 June.[9]
Teo was married to Chew Poh Yim, who was the director of the business consultancy and part-time marketing management atNanyang Polytechnic's School of Business Management. Chew graduated from theUniversity of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology in 1977 with aBachelor of Science with honours degree inbiochemistry. In 2015, she foundedStroke Support Station, a volunteering organisation that provides assistance to stroke survivors and caregivers. Chew died on 31 October 2021 at the age of 67.[10] The couple have one son and one daughter.
Teo was also the president of theSingapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) between 1998 and 2014, and an advisor to the Singapore Dragon Boat Association.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister for the Environment 1996–1997 Acting: 1995–1996 | Succeeded by |
| Recreated Title last held by Lee Boon Yang | Second Minister for Defence 1996–2003 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Education 1997–2003 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Defence 2003–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore 2009–2019 Served alongside:Wong Kan Seng (2005–2011), Tharman Shanmugaratnam (2011–2019) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Home Affairs 2011–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Coordinating Minister for National Security 2011–2025 | Succeeded by |
| Vacant Title last held by S. JayakumarGoh Chok Tong 2011 | Senior Minister of Singapore 2019–2025 Served alongside:Tharman Shanmugaratnam (2019–2023), Lee Hsien Loong (2024–2025) | Vacant |
| Parliament of Singapore | ||
| Preceded by Lim Chee Onn | Member of Parliament for Marine Parade GRC (Joo Chiat) 1992–1997 | Succeeded byas MP forEast Coast GRC (Joo Chiat) |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris GRC (Pasir Ris Loyang) 1997–2001 | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC (Pasir Ris West) 2001–2025 | Succeeded byas MP forPasir Ris–Changi GRC (Pasir Ris West) |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by Rear-AdmiralJames Leo | Chief of theRepublic of Singapore Navy 1991–1992 | Succeeded by Rear-AdmiralKwek Siew Jin |
| International | |
|---|---|
| Artists | |
| Other | |
