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Dan Tehan

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The Honourable
Dan Tehan
MP
Tehan in 2022
Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment
In office
18 December 2020 – 23 May 2022
Prime MinisterScott Morrison
Preceded bySimon Birmingham
Succeeded byDon Farrell
Minister for Education
In office
28 August 2018 – 18 December 2020
Prime MinisterScott Morrison
Preceded bySimon Birmingham
Succeeded byAlan Tudge
Minister for Social Services
In office
20 December 2017 – 28 August 2018
Prime MinisterMalcolm Turnbull
Scott Morrison
Preceded byChristian Porter
Succeeded byPaul Fletcher
Minister for Defence Personnel
In office
19 July 2016 – 20 December 2017
Prime MinisterMalcolm Turnbull
Preceded byMarise Payne(as Acting Minister for Defence Materiel and Science)
Succeeded byMichael McCormack
Minister for Veterans' Affairs
In office
18 February 2016 – 20 December 2017
Prime MinisterMalcolm Turnbull
Preceded byStuart Robert
Succeeded byMichael McCormack
Minister for Defence Materiel
In office
18 February 2016 – 19 July 2016
Prime MinisterMalcolm Turnbull
Preceded byMarise Payne(as Acting Minister for Defence Materiel and Science)
Succeeded byChristopher Pyneas Minister for Defence Industry)
Member of theAustralian Parliament
forWannon
Assumed office
21 August 2010
Preceded byDavid Hawker
Personal details
Born
Daniel Thomas Tehan

(1968-01-27)27 January 1968(age 56)
Melbourne,Victoria,Australia
Political partyLiberal
SpouseSarah Tehan
Children5
ParentMarie Tehan(mother)
Alma materUniversity of Melbourne
OccupationPolitician
WebsiteOfficial website

Daniel Thomas Tehan(TEE-an;born 27 January 1968) is an Australian politician. He is a member of theLiberal Partyand has been a member of theHouse of Representativessince the2010 election,representing the Victorian seat ofWannon.He held ministerial office in theCoalitiongovernments underMalcolm TurnbullandScott Morrison,serving asMinister for Defence Materiel(2016),Defence Personnel(2016–2017),Veterans' Affairs(2016–2017),Social Services(2017–2018),Education(2018–2020), andTrade, Tourism and Investment.He was a public servant and political adviser before entering parliament.

Childhood and education[edit]

Tehan was born on 27 January 1968 inMelbourne,[1]the third of six children born to Jim andMarie Tehan(néeO'Brien).[2]His mother was elected to theParliament of Victoriain 1987 and served as a state government minister, while his father was a country vice-president of theLiberal Party of Australia (Victorian Division).Tehan grew up on the family's farming property nearMansfield, Victoria.His paternal grandfather Jim Tehan helped establish theNational Farmers' Federation.[3]His mother and aunt both died ofCreutzfeldt–Jakob disease.[2]

Tehan attended a Catholic primary school and a public high school in country Victoria before completing his secondary education as a boarder atXavier College,Melbourne.[4]He holds the degrees of Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) from theUniversity of Melbourne,Master of Foreign Affairs and Trade fromMonash University,and Master of International Relations from theUniversity of Kentin England.[1]

Early career[edit]

Tehan worked with theDepartment of Foreign Affairs and Tradefrom 1995 to 1998 and then was a member of the diplomatic service from 1999 to 2001.[1]He was posted toMexico Cityand was also involved with Central America and Cuba.[3]In 2002 he was seconded to the office of Trade MinisterMark Vaile.When Vaile became deputy prime minister in 2005 Tehan remained with him as a senior adviser. He later served as chief of staff toFran Bailey,the Minister for Small Business and Tourism. After the defeat of theHoward government,he served as director of trade policy and international affairs with theAustralian Chamber of Commerce and Industry(2007–2008) and deputy state director of the Liberal Party in Victoria (2008–2009).[1]

Politics[edit]

Tehan with constituents in 2015

Tehan was elected to the House of Representatives at the2010 federal election,succeedingDavid Hawkerin theDivision of Wannon.He was encouraged to run for LiberalpreselectionbyDenis Napthine,a family friend, and beat nine other candidates in the ballot despite his lack of prior connections with the area.[3]He and his family moved toHamiltonin order to live in the electorate.[5]

In February 2015, Tehan publicly supported Prime MinisterTony Abbottin the lead-up to amotion to spill the leadership of the Liberal Party.[6]He reportedly also supported Abbott in theSeptember 2015 leadership spillwhich saw him replaced byMalcolm Turnbull.[7]

Turnbull government[edit]

On 13 February 2016 it was announced that Tehan would be appointed theMinister for Veterans' Affairs,theMinister for Defence Materiel,and theMinister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of ANZACfollowing arearrangementin theFirst Turnbull Ministry.[8]

With the reelection of theTurnbull governmentafter the2016 election,Tehan kept his Veterans' Affairs and Centenary of ANZAC portfolios and moved from Defence Materiel toDefence Personnelin theSecond Turnbull Ministry.[9]Despite his earlier support of Tony Abbott, in June 2017 he publicly criticised him for his perceived lack of support for the Turnbull government.[10]In thefourth rearrangement of the same Turnbull ministry,on 20 December 2017 Tehan was promoted to the Minister for Social Services and served as a member of theCabinet.[11]

Morrison government[edit]

Tehan as trade minister in 2022 with U.S. agriculture secretaryTom Vilsack

During theAugust 2018 Liberal leadership spills,Tehan announced that he would not vote to depose a sitting prime minister.[12]When Turnbull withdrew from the second vote, he supportedScott Morrison.[13]Tehan was subsequently appointedMinister for Educationin thefirst Morrison Ministry.[14]

Tehan commissioned two reviews intoacademic freedomfollowing a series of controversies.[15]The first, led byRobert French,recommended the adoption of a freedom-of-speech code, with universities agreeing to implement this by the end of 2020. The second, led bySally Walker,examined university responses to the French code.[16]

In 2020, Tehan announced a policy wherebyuniversity course feeswould be altered to encourage "job-ready graduates", with fees to be increased for arts, commerce and law but reduced forSTEMsubjects.[17]He later proposed that students failing more than half of their courses be denied access to government loans.[18]

Tehan was moved to thetradeportfolio in a December 2020 cabinet reshuffle, prompted by the retirement ofMathias Cormann.[19]He took over negotiations for the proposed Australia–UK free trade agreement from his predecessorSimon Birmingham.[20]

Opposition[edit]

Following the Coalition's defeat at the2022 federal election,Tehan was given the immigration and citizenship portfolio inPeter Dutton's shadow cabinet.[1]

Political positions[edit]

Tehan is a member of the Centrist faction of the Liberal Party,[21]after previously being aligned withcentre-right factionduring theMorrison governmentyears.[22]

Tehan opposed the legalisation ofsame-sex marriage in Australia,but in June 2016 announced he would vote in parliament in accordance with the results ofa nationwide plebiscite.[23]He ultimately voted in favour of theMarriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017which legalised same-sex marriage.[24]In 2018 he delivered the St Thomas More Lecture in Canberra and spoke of a "creeping encroachment from the state on religious belief", suggesting the introduction of a national religious discrimination act.[25]

Personal life[edit]

Tehan has five children with his wife Sarah and as of 2016 lived on a small farm nearHamilton, Victoria.[26]

Tehan supports theRichmond Tigersin theAustralian Football League.[27]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcde"Hon Dan Tehan MP".Senators and Members of theParliament of Australia.Retrieved7 November2021.
  2. ^ab"Former Minister died from CJD".The Sydney Morning Herald.6 November 2004.Retrieved3 May2020.
  3. ^abcWoolley, Jarrod (20 February 2016)."The rise of Dan Tehan: From the farm to the frontbench".The Standard.Retrieved3 May2020.
  4. ^Packham, Ben (27 August 2018)."Tehan's job: win back the Catholic schools vote".The Weekend Australian.Retrieved3 May2020.
  5. ^Sinnott, Alex (24 December 2010)."The best and worst of 2010 politics".The Standard.Retrieved3 May2020.
  6. ^Woolley, Jarrod (6 February 2015)."Wannon MP Dan Tehan back Prime Minister ahead of Liberal leadership spill".The Standard.Retrieved11 April2021.
  7. ^Martin, Sarah (16 September 2015)."Malcolm Turnbull: treachery defeated Abbott, claim loyalists".The Australian.Retrieved11 April2021.
  8. ^Massola, James (13 February 2016)."Cabinet reshuffle: Malcolm Turnbull announces new frontbench as Mal Brough resigns".The Age.Retrieved13 February2016.
  9. ^Anderson, Stephanie (20 July 2016)."Election 2016: Malcolm Turnbull unveils ministry with Christopher Pyne, Greg Hunt on the move".ABC News.Retrieved22 July2016.
  10. ^Tillett, Andrew (30 June 2017)."Liberal conservatives hit back at Tony Abbott".Australian Financial Review.Retrieved6 June2021.
  11. ^Turnbull, Malcolm(19 December 2017)."Ministerial arrangements".Prime Minister's Office.Archived fromthe originalon 13 March 2018.Retrieved19 December2017.
  12. ^Murphy, Katharine."Dutton backers launch late-night attack on Turnbull, hoping to trigger second spill".Guardian Australia.Retrieved11 April2021.
  13. ^"How the party members voted in the Liberal leadership contest".The Age.24 August 2018.Retrieved11 April2021.
  14. ^Bagshaw, Eryk (26 August 2018)."Prime Minister Scott Morrison reveals new cabinet".The Age.Retrieved26 August2018.
  15. ^Ferguson, Richard (23 February 2021)."Glyn Davis and Dan Tehan in university free-speech clash".The Australian.Retrieved6 June2021.
  16. ^"Education Minister Dan Tehan launches review into universities' implemention [sic] of free speech code ".The Australian.7 August 2020.Retrieved6 June2021.
  17. ^Karp, Paul (19 June 2020)."Australian university fees to double for some arts courses, but fall for Stem subjects".Guardian Australia.Retrieved6 June2021.
  18. ^"University students who fail half their first-year courses could lose federal funding".Guardian Australia. 13 August 2020.Retrieved6 June2021.
  19. ^"Dan Tehan named new trade minister while aged care 'elevated' to cabinet in reshuffle".the Guardian.18 December 2020.Retrieved18 December2020.
  20. ^"Attack on Dan Tehan was part of plot to take credit for long-expected trade deal breakthrough".Sydney Morning Herald.22 April 2021.Retrieved6 June2021.
  21. ^Massola, James (8 April 2023)."How Morrison's shattering defeat gave Dutton a seismic shift in factional power".The Sydney Morning Herald.Retrieved4 December2023.
  22. ^Massola, James (20 March 2021)."Who's who in the Liberals' left, right and centre factions?".The Sydney Morning Herald.Fairfax Media.Retrieved1 February2022.
  23. ^Martinich, Rex (29 June 2016)."Member for Wannon Dan Tehan would look to any national plebiscite result for vote on legalising gay marriage".The Wimmera Mail-Times.Retrieved6 June2021.
  24. ^Martinich, Rex (8 December 2017)."Wannon MP Dan Tehan and Mallee MP Andrew Broad vote for same-sex marriage amid battle over religious freedom".Stawell Times.Retrieved12 February2024.
  25. ^Kelly, Joe (7 July 2018)."Dan Tehan in fresh push for freedom of religion".The Australian.Retrieved6 June2021.
  26. ^"The Hon Dan Tehan MP".National Press Club of Australia. 2016.Retrieved6 June2021.
  27. ^"Each AFL Teams Biggest Political Fan".

External links[edit]

Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Member for Wannon
2010–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment
2020–2022 		Succeeded by
Minister for Education
2018–2020 		Succeeded byasMinister for Education and Youth
Preceded by Minister for Social Services
2017-2018 		Succeeded by
Vacant
Title last held by
Marise Payne
as Acting Minister for Defence Materiel and Science 		Minister for Defence Personnel
2016–2017 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister for Veterans' Affairs
2016–2017
Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC
2016–2017
Preceded byas Acting Minister for Defence Materiel and Science Minister for Defence Materiel
2016 		Succeeded byas Minister for Defence Industry
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dan_Tehan&oldid=1232343551"