Teo Chee Hean
Constituency	Pasir-Ris Punggol GRC
Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
Incumbent
Assumed office  April 1, 2009
Preceded by	S. Jayakumar
Minister for Defence
Preceded by	Tony Tan Keng Yam
Minister for Education
Preceded by	Lee Yock Suan
Succeeded by	Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Born	27 December 1954 (1954-12-27) (age 54) Singapore
Political party	People's Action Party
Spouse(s)	Chew Poh Yim

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Teo (Zhang).

Teo Chee Hean (simplified Chinese: 张志贤; traditional Chinese: 張志賢; pinyin: Zhāng Zhìxián; born 27 December 1954) is a politician from Singapore. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he is currently the country's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, and a Member of Parliament for the Pasir Ris-Punggol Group Representation Constituency (GRC).

Teo previously served as Singapore's Minister for Education from 1997-2003, and Minister for the Environment from 1996-97. Prior to entering politics, he was an officer in the Republic of Singapore Navy, and served as Singapore's Chief of Navy from 1991-92.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Naval career 3 Political career 4 Personal life 5 External links

[edit] Early life

Teo was educated at Saint Michael's School and Saint Joseph's Institution. He enlisted in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in 1972 and received his commission as a naval officer at the Singapore Armed Forces Training Institute in 1973. He was awarded the President's Scholarship and the SAF Scholarship in 1973 to study Electrical Engineering and Management Science at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science (First Class Honours) degree in 1976. He continued with his studies at Imperial College London, obtaining a Master of Science degree (with distinction) in Computing Science in 1977.

[edit] Naval career

Teo held various command and staff appointments in the Republic of Singapore Navy and the Joint Staff. He pursued postgraduate studies at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1986, where he graduated with a Master of Public Administration degree and was named a Lucius N. Littauer Fellow.

Teo assumed command of the Republic of Singapore Navy as Chief of Navy in 1991 and was promoted to the rank of Commodore (later re-designated to Rear Admiral) in July 1991.

On 7 December 1992, Teo left the SAF to seek elected public office.

[edit] Political career

In a by-election in December 1992, Teo was elected as an MP for the Marine Parade GRC. Thereafter, he served as a Minister of State in the ministries of finance, communications and defence.

In April 1995, Teo was concurrently appointed as 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. In the January 1997 general election, he was elected as an MP for Pasir Ris GRC and thereafter was appointed Minister for Education while continuing as Second Minister for Defence.

In the November 2001 general election, Teo was elected as MP for the Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC and re-appointed as Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence. On 1 August 2003, he was appointed as Minister for Defence.

Teo was once again re-elected as the MP for the Pasir-Ris Punggol GRC at the general elections in May 2006.

On 26 March 2009, the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, appointed Teo as one of two Deputy Prime Ministers with effect from 1 April 2009.

[edit] Personal life

Teo is married to Chew Poh Yim. She was born in Perak, West Malaysia and went to England for her higher studies. She graduated with a BSc (Hons) degree in Biochemistry from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (1977). She is a marketing consultant to a major supermarket chain in Singapore and she also teaches Marketing Management at the Nanyang School of Business, Nanyang Polytechnic, on a part-time basis. They have a son and a daughter.

Teo has served as the president of the Singapore Dragon Boat Association (SDBA).

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Teo Chee Hean

• Teo Chee Hean's Singapore Cabinet Biography

Preceded by ?	Minister for the Environment 1996-1997	Succeeded by Lim Swee Say
Preceded by None	Second Minister for Defence 1996-2003	Succeeded by Ng Eng Hen
Preceded by Lee Yock Suan	Minister for Education 1997-2003	Succeeded by Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Preceded by Tony Tan	Minister for Defence 2003–present	Incumbent
Preceded by S Jayakumar	Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore 2009–present	Incumbent