Read the complete write-up of Josephine Teo net worth, age, husband, children, height, family, parents, salary, politics, party as well as other information you need to know.
Introduction
Josephine Teo is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Minister for Communications and Information since 2021, and Minister-in-charge of the Cyber Security Agency and Smart Nation Initiative and Second Minister for Home Affairs since 2017. A member of the governing People’s Action Party (PAP), she has been a Member of the 14th Parliament representing the Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng ward of Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency (GRC) since 2020.
Teo had worked at the Economic Development Board, Agency for Science, Technology and Research and National Trades Union Congress before entering politics. She made her political debut in the 2006 general election as part of a five-member PAP team contesting in Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC. The PAP team won by an uncontested walkover and Teo was elected as a Member of Parliament representing the Toa Payoh East ward.
After the 2011 general election, Josephine Teo switched to representing the Bishan North ward in Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC. She held positions in the Ministries of Finance, Transport before she was promoted to full Minister on 1 May 2017. She had since held portfolios in the Prime Minister’s Office and Manpower and Foreign Affairs ministries.
Early Life
| Name | Josephine Teo |
| Net Worth | $4 million |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Height | 1.63m |
| Age | 53 years |
Josephine Teo Li Min née Yong was born on July 8, 1968 (age 53 years) in Singapore. She was educated at Dunman High School and Raffles Junior College before she went to the National University of Singapore (NUS), where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1990 and a Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) in 1991.
During her studies in NUS, Josephine Teo was awarded several prizes, including the Rachel Meyer Book Prize, which is awarded to the best-performing female candidate in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences’ final-year examinations. She was then awarded a postgraduate scholarship under the Economic Development Board-Glaxo Scholarship Programme and completed a Master of Science in economics at the London School of Economics in 1992.
Career
Josephine Teo worked at the Economic Development Board (EDB) from 1992 to 2002. She began her career in enterprise development before she was posted to Suzhou as part of the EDB team working on the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park, where she was responsible for marketing resources. Upon her return to Singapore, she became the EDB’s Head of Human Resources. From 2002 to 2006, Teo was the Head of Human Resources at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).
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In November 2005, Teo also took on the role of Director of Human Resources at the Administration and Research Unit of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC). After she was elected to Parliament in 2006, Teo took on additional roles within the NTUC and the labour movement. She served as the Executive Secretary of the Singapore Industrial Services Employees’ Union (2006–2011).
At the Administration and Research Unit, she served as the Alignment Director (Youth Development) and Alignment Director (Organisation Development) (2007–11), and as the Centric Director (Staff) (2008–2011). She also served as the NTUC’s Assistant Secretary-General from 2007 to 2011. From 2009 to 2011, Josephine Teo also served as the Chief Executive Officer of Business China, an organisation aimed at improving cultural and economic ties between Singapore and China.
Political career
Josephine Teo made her political debut in the 2006 general election when she contested in Bishan–Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency (GRC) as part of a five-member People’s Action Party team. The PAP team won by an uncontested walkover and Teo became a Member of Parliament representing the Toa Payoh East ward of Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC. During her first term in Parliament, Teo served as the Chair of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Education, and as a member of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Defence and Foreign Affairs.
Following the 2011 general election, on 18 May 2011, Josephine Teo was appointed Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Transport. She was promoted to Senior Minister of State at the Ministries of Finance and Transport on 1 September 2013, and switched to representing the Bishan North ward of Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC. She relinquished her position as Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance on 30 September 2015.
In a media interview in October 2016, Josephine Teo responded to questions of whether Singaporeans were getting their HDB flats early enough in order to start a family, stating that one “does not need much space to have sex”. Teo further added that “in France, in the U.K., in Nordic countries, man meets woman and they can make a baby already. They love each other.” Teo’s words drew flak from on social media, with netizens criticising her for lacking empathy towards couples and being insensitive towards couples’ practical considerations such as being able to secure a HDB flat before starting a family, as well as accusing her of promoting premarital sex in conservative Singapore.
Josephine Teo was promoted to full Minister on May 1, 2017 and appointed Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Manpower, and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs. She also oversaw the National Population and Talent Division, a department in the Prime Minister’s Office. On 11 September 2017, she relinquished her portfolio as Second Minister for Foreign Affairs and became Second Minister for Home Affairs. On 1 May 2018, Teo succeeded Lim Swee Say as Minister for Manpower, being the second female Cabinet minister to helm a ministry after Grace Fu. She also continued to hold the portfolio of Second Minister for Home Affairs.
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Teo commented on her Facebook page in May 2017 about the high cost of milk powder in Singapore, saying that “milk is milk, however fancy the marketing”. She further claimed that she would buy whichever brand of milk powder approved for sale by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority that was cheapest for her own children. She was criticised for being ignorant to the fact that even the cheapest milk powder in Singapore is still much more expensive compared to that in other countries in the region.
On 26 October 2018, during a conference held by the Institute of Policy Studies, Teo commented that implementing a minimum wage in Singapore may instead lead to higher unemployment and that Singapore’s income inequality gap is “a problem of success” that is “difficult to overcome”.
Josephine Teo moved from the PAP team contesting in Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC to the four-member PAP team contesting in Jalan Besar GRC in the 2020 general election. The PAP team won against the Peoples Voice team with about 65% of the vote. Teo then became the Member of Parliament representing the Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng ward of Jalan Besar GRC.
Following a Cabinet reshuffle in May 2021, Josephine Teo succeeded S. Iswaran as Minister for Communication and Information while continuing to serve as Second Minister for Home Affairs. In addition, she was appointed Minister-in-charge of the Cyber Security Agency and Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation Initiative. In 2021, Teo was involved in a Singtel advertisement called “Powering Up Singapore with SingTel 5G”.
Husband
Josephine Teo is married to his longtime boyfriend Teo Eng Cheong, they had their wedding in 1995. Her Husband Teo Eng Cheong was the former Chief Executive Officer of Surbana Jurong. The couple has two daughters and a son. However, in 2012, Teo appeared in a Channel 8 drama, Pillow Talk, in which she shared about love and romance between couples.
Josephine Teo net worth
How much is Josephine Teo worth? Josephine Teo net worth is estimated at around $4 million. Her main source of income is from her career as a politician. Teo successful career has earned her some luxurious lifestyle and some fancy cars trips. Her salary for 2022 ranges from $162,574 to $475,483, but with bonuses, benefits and various other compensation, she made significantly more than her salary in the year 2019. She is one of the richest and influential politicians in Singapore.