Teo Chee Hean ( zh, s=张志贤, poj=Tioⁿ Chì-hiân, p=Zhāng Zhìxián, first=poj; born 27 December 1954) is a Singaporean former politician and two-star

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

who served as

Senior Minister of Singapore Senior Minister of Singapore is a position in the Cabinet of Singapore. Holders of this office have previously served as either the Prime Minister of Singapore, prime minister or the Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, deputy prime minister. Amo ...

and Coordinating Minister for National Security from 2019 and 2015 respectively until 2025. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Pasir Ris West division of

Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC Pasil (, also Romanized as Pasīl; also known as Pasīr) is a village in Sepiddasht Rural District, Papi District, Khorramabad County, Lorestan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, ...

from 2001 to 2025. A recipient of the President's Scholarship and Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship, Teo served in the

Republic of Singapore Navy The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) is the Naval warfare, maritime Military branch, service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for defending the country against any seaborne threats and as a guarantor of its sea lines of ...

(RSN) between 1972 and 1992, and attained the rank of

Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

(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 the 1992 by-election in

Marine Parade GRC The Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency was a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) located in the Central Region, Singapore, central, East Region, Singapore, eastern and North-East Region, Singapore, north-eastern are ...

as part of a four-member PAP team. He had served as 6th

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

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 and

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, emergency ...

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 Minister

Lee Hsien Loong Lee Hsien Loong (born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician and former military officer who served as the third Prime Minister of Singapore, prime minister of Singapore from 2004 to 2024, thereafter serving as a Senior Minister of S ...

's absence. Within the PAP, Teo was First Assistant Secretary-General in the party's Central Executive Committee (CEC) before he was succeeded by

Heng Swee Keat Heng Swee Keat (; born 15 April 1961) is a Singaporean former politician and former police officer who served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore from 2019 until 2025. He was the Parliament of Singapore, Member of Parliament (MP) who rep ...

in November 2018.

Education

Teo was educated at

St. Joseph's Institution St. Joseph's Institution (SJI) is an independent Catholic educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1852 by the De La Salle Brothers, it is the first Catholic school and the third oldest school in the country. SJI has been offering a dual ...

before he was awarded the President's Scholarship and Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship in 1973. He graduated from the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

in 1976 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

with first class honours degree in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

and

management science Management science (or managerial science) is a wide and interdisciplinary study of solving complex problems and making strategic decisions as it pertains to institutions, corporations, governments and other types of organizational entities. It is ...

. He subsequently went on to complete a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

with distinction degree in

computing science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to applied disciplines (including the design an ...

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

in 1977. He also completed a

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

degree at

Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

in 1986, where he was named a Littauer Fellow.

Career

Military career

Teo joined the

Singapore Armed Forces The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A component of the Ministry of Defence (Singapore), Ministry of D ...

(SAF) in 1972 and was commissioned as a

naval officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent ...

at the SAFTI Military Institute in 1973. He went on to hold various command and staff appointments in the

(RSN) and the Joint Staff before his appointment as Chief of Navy in 1991 with the rank of

(Two-Star) before leaving the SAF on 7 December 1992 to contest in the 1992 by-elections in

. Teo was awarded the Commendation Medal (Silver) (Military) and the Public Administration Medal (Gold) (Military) in the 1981 and 1992 National Day Awards respectively.

Political career

Teo made his political debut in the 1992 by-elections in

as part of a four-member PAP team led by Prime Minister

Goh Chok Tong Goh Chok Tong (born 20 May 1941) is a Singaporean former politician who served as the second prime minister of Singapore from 1990 to 2004 and as a senior minister of Singapore from 2004 to 2011. He served as the secretary-general of the Peo ...

. After the PAP team won 72.9% of the vote against three opposition parties, Teo was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Joo Chiat ward of Marine Parade GRC. He was subsequently appointed as Minister of State for Finance, Minister of State for Communications and Minister of State for Defence. In April 1995, Teo was appointed as Senior Minister of State for Defence and Acting Minister for the Environment. In January 1996, he was promoted to full Minister and given the Cabinet portfolios of Minister for the Environment and Second Minister for Defence. Teo switched to contesting in Pasir Ris GRC during the 1997 general election and the four-member PAP team led by him won 70.9% of the vote against the

Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...

. Teo thus elected as the MP representing the Pasir Ris Loyang ward of Pasir Ris GRC. In subsequent Cabinet reshuffles, he became Minister for Education while continuing to serve as Second Minister for Defence. During the 2001 general election, Teo led the five-member PAP team contesting in the newly formed

and won an uncontested walkover. After winning the general election, he continued to hold his previous Cabinet portfolios while becoming the MP representing the Pasir Ris West ward of Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC. On 1 August 2003, Teo was appointed as Minister for Defence and Minister-in-charge of the Civil Service. During the 2006 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 the Singapore Democratic Alliance. He retained his parliamentary seat and continued holding his Cabinet portfolios. On 1 April 2009, Teo was appointed as one of two

s, 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 the 2011 general election and won 64.79% of the vote against the Singapore Democratic Alliance. On 18 May 2011, Teo relinquished his Cabinet portfolio of Minister for Defence and took up the positions of

and Coordinating 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 as

to become a Senior Minister, while retaining his position as Coordinating Minister for National Security. In his new role, he also oversaw four departments under the Prime Minister's Office; Smart Nation and Digital Government Group, National Security Coordination Secretariat, National Population and Talent Division, and the National Climate Change Secretariat. On 21 April 2025, Teo announced that he will not be contesting for the Pasir Ris–Changi GRC in the 2025 general election. On 23 April, on the Nomination Day for the 2025 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.

Post-politics Career

On 6 June 2025,

Temasek Holdings Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited ( ) is a Singaporean State ownership, state-owned multinational investment firm. Incorporated on 25 June 1974, Temasek has a net portfolio of US$288 billion (S$389 billion) as of 2024. Headquartered at Orchard ...

announced that Teo will join its board of director on 1 July and succeed

Lim Boon Heng Lim Boon Heng (; born 18 November 1947) is a Singaporean trade unionist and former politician. Since retiring from politics, Lim has been the chairman of Temasek Holdings since 2013. A former member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP) ...

as chairman on 9 October. On 10 June 2025, GIC announced that Teo has resigned from its board of directors and as chairman of its international advisory board, effective 30 June.

Personal life

Teo was married to Chew Poh Yim, who was the director of the business consultancy and part-time marketing management at Nanyang Polytechnic's School of Business Management. Chew graduated from the

University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for Research univer ...

in 1977 with a

with honours degree in

biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

. In 2015, she founde
Stroke Support Station
a volunteering organisation that provides assistance to stroke survivors and caregivers. Chew died on 31 October 2021 at the age of 67. The couple have one son and one daughter. Teo was also the president of the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) between 1998 and 2014, and an advisor to the Singapore Dragon Boat Association.

Honours

* 1981: Pingat Penghargaan, Perak (Tentera) - Commendation Medal (Silver) (Military) * 1992: Pingat Pentadbiran Awam, Emas (Tentera) - Public Administration Medal (Gold) (Military)

References

Bibliography

* 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),

External links

Teo Chee Hean
on Singapore Prime Minister's Office
Teo Chee Hean
on

Parliament of Singapore The Parliament of Singapore is the unicameralism, unicameral legislature of the Singapore, Republic of Singapore, which governs the country alongside the President of Singapore. Largely based upon the Westminster system, the Parliament is made ...

* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Teo, Chee Hean 1954 births Living people Alumni of the University of London Alumni of the Department of Computing, Imperial College London Alumni of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology Deputy prime ministers of Singapore Environment ministers of Singapore Ministers for defence of Singapore Members of the Parliament of Singapore People's Action Party politicians President's Scholars Recipients of the Olympic Order Saint Joseph's Institution, Singapore alumni Singaporean people of Teochew descent Harvard Kennedy School alumni Chiefs of the Republic of Singapore Navy Ministers for education of Singapore Ministers for home affairs of Singapore Members of the Cabinet of Singapore