, then the Chief of Government of
Buenos Aires, in 2012|thumb|right
Early political career Teo made her political debut in the
2006 general election when she contested in
Bishan–Toa Payoh 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, Teo along with
Wong Kan Seng,
Hri Kumar,
Ng Eng Hen and
Zainudin Nordin contested in
Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC and won about 57% - against the
Singapore People's Party. On 18 May 2011, 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. Following the
2015 general election, Teo along with
Chong Kee Hiong,
Chee Hong Tat,
Ng Eng Hen and
Saktiandi Supaat contested in
Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC and won about 74%, higher than the previous election against the
Singapore People's Party.
As Minister On 1 May 2017, Teo was promoted to full Minister 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 and continued to hold the portfolio of Second Minister for Home Affairs. During the
COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore, despite effective handling of initial waves of infection, several serious outbreaks in April have brought the situation in Singapore out of control; many analysts points to poor conditions at foreign workers dormitories as a major factor of the failure. The pandemic brought the living conditions at foreign worker dormitories to media attention. Dormitories were reported to be unsanitary and crowded, making preventive measures like social distancing difficult. Retired diplomat
Tommy Koh criticised the living conditions, calling it "third world" and "a time bomb waiting to explode".
Amnesty International called the situation a "recipe for disaster".
Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo vowed to improve the living conditions of foreign workers after the quarantine was handled. On 9 April, MOM said in a press release that it will improve quality of meals of foreign workers during quarantine and formed a task force to improve the living conditions of foreign workers. As of 25 April 25 dormitories have been gazetted as isolation areas. Some healthy workers are also progressively being moved to numerous empty premises such as
SAF camps,
HDB blocks, floating hotels and
Changi Exhibition Centre. On 16 April, Teo said that there will be a "three-pronged strategy"; containing the spread, imposing lockdowns and separating workers in essential services.
2020 - present Prior to the
2020 general election, Teo moved from
Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC to contest in
Jalan Besar GRC. Teo along with
Denise Phua,
Wan Rizal Wan Zakariah and
Heng Chee How contested in Jalan Besar GRC against the
Peoples Voice and won about 65% of the vote. Teo then became the Member of Parliament representing the
Kreta Ayer-
Kim Seng ward of Jalan Besar GRC. Teo was the
PAP Community Foundation executive committee for 12 years as a member and the chairwoman from 2016 to 2020 and in October 2020 she was appointed as deputy chairwoman of the
PCF management council. Following a
Cabinet reshuffle in May 2021, 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 June 2022, Teo was announced the new
PAP Community Foundation (PCF) management council chairman, taking over from
Lawrence Wong who is the
Minister of Finance as he is being promoted to
Deputy Prime Minister. During the
2025 general election, Teo contested
Jalan Besar GRC as the anchor minister for the PAP team. == Political positions ==