Edmund William Barker (1 December 1920 – 12 April 2001) was a Singaporean politician and lawyer who authored the Proclamation of Singapore. 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 between 1964 and 1988. Barker also served as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore between 1963 and 1964, and Leader of the House between 1968 and 1985.

Early life and education

Born in Singapore on 1 December 1920, he was a

Eurasian Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Ja ...

Singaporean, Barker was the son of Clarence Barker and Dorothy Evaline Paterson. Barker was of Portuguese, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Scottish and Irish descent and was third in a family of five children. His great-great-grandfather was Thomas Owen Crane (1799–1869), an Irishman and one of the first ten Europeans to settle in Singapore and his great-great-great-grandfather was Sir (Dr) Jose D Almeida (1784–1850), a Portuguese doctor and well-known businessman in early Singapore. Barker was educated at Serangoon English School and

Raffles Institution Raffles Institution (RI) is an independent educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1823, it is the oldest school in the country. It provides secondary education for boys only from Year 1 to Year 4, and pre-university education for both ...

, before enrolling into Raffles College (now the National University of Singapore) in 1940. Barker was a top athlete in his school and university days. He represented Raffles College in cricket, soccer, rugby, athletics and hockey. A talented sports player, Barker was selected to represent Singapore as a member of the national

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

team while he was still a schoolboy. He is also known as a guitar player. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Barker travelled to

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

as part of a medical health unit which was sent to look after Allied POWs working on the

Death Railway The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 ...

. After the war, Barker was awarded a Queen's Scholarship in 1946 to study at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, where he read law at St Catharine's College in 1948. He graduated with honours in 1951. He was then called to the bar at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and returned to Singapore to practice law from 1952 to 1964.

Career

Barker practiced law in Singapore from 1956 to 1964 at the law firms Braddell Brothers and Lee & Lee. He was persuaded to enter politics in 1963 by

Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...

. Barker was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in 1963, representing

Tanglin Tanglin is a planning area located within the Central Region of Singapore. Tanglin is located west of Newton, Orchard, River Valley and Singapore River, south of Novena, east of Bukit Timah, northeast of Queenstown and north of Bukit Merah. ...

. He continued to represent Tanglin in the Parliament of Singapore until 1988, being re-elected six times by uncontested walkovers. He also held several ministerial positions during his period of service. Barker served as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the Legislative Assembly from 1963 to 1964. In 1964, he was appointed as Minister for Law, and continued to hold that post until 1988. As Minister for Law, he drafted the Proclamation of Singapore in 1965, announcing Singapore's separation from

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. During his 25 years in Parliament, Barker also served as Minister for National Development from 1965 to 1975,

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 ...

in 1972, Minister for the Environment from 1975 to 1979, Minister for Science and Technology from 1977 to 1981 and Minister for Labour in 1983. Barker retired from politics in 1988 after 25 years of service. Other roles Barker held included being the first 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 ...

from 1970 to 1990, President of the South-East Asia Peninsular Games Federation Council in 1973, Chairman of the Bukit Turf Club from 1989 to 1994 and Chairman of the

Singapore Exchange The Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX) is a Singaporean investment holding company that provides different services related to securities and derivatives trading and others. SGX is also a member of the World Federation of Exchanges and the Asian ...

from 1989 to 1993.

Death

Barker died on 12 April 2001 at 12:40pm at the

National University Hospital The National University Hospital (NUH) is a tertiary referral hospital and academic medical centre in Singapore, located in Kent Ridge. It is a 1,160-bed tertiary hospital serving more than 670,000 outpatients and 49,000 inpatients and serves ...

, after two months of intensive care following an emergency colon surgery in February 2001. He left behind his wife Gloria Hyacinth Quintal and four children. The E W Barker Institute of Sports (EWBIS) at

is named after him. During his time at RI, he was a school captain, head prefect and champion athlete in 1938.

References

*Lam, Peng Er & Tan, Kevin Y.L. (1999). ''Lee's Lieutenants''. South Wind Production. . *"Old guard Stalwart Eddie Barker dies", ''The Straits Times'', (2001, April 13), p1 *"The reluctant politician", ''The Straits Times'', Home, (2001, April 13), p2 *"Breadwinner", (1970, May 8), ''The Straits Times'', p6

External links

Edmund Barker Singapore.zip
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Edmund W 1920 births 2001 deaths People's Action Party politicians Queen's Scholars (British Malaya and Singapore) Raffles Institution alumni Singaporean people of German descent Singaporean people of Irish descent Singaporean politicians of Japanese descent Singaporean people of Malay descent Singaporean people of Portuguese descent Singaporean people of Scottish descent Speakers of the Parliament of Singapore Members of the Dewan Rakyat Members of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore Burma Railway prisoners Ministers for Law of Singapore Environment ministers of Singapore Ministers for Home Affairs of Singapore Ministers for Labour of Singapore