Edmund W. Barker (original) (raw)

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Singaporean politician and lawyer

Edmund William BarkerDUNU SPMJ
Official portrait, 1963
Minister for Science and Technology
In office26 September 1977 – 1 April 1981
Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew
Preceded by Jek Yeun Thong
Succeeded by Office abolished
Minister for the Environment
In office2 June 1975 – 31 January 1979
Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew
Preceded by Lim Kim San
Succeeded by Lim Kim San
Minister for Home Affairs
In office16 September 1972 – 31 October 1972
Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew
Preceded by Wong Lin Ken
Succeeded by Chua Sian Chin
Leader of the House
In office16 April 1968 – 1 January 1985
Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew
Preceded by Toh Chin Chye
Succeeded by S. Dhanabalan
Minister for National Development
In office9 August 1965 – 2 June 1975
Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew
Preceded by Lim Kim San
Succeeded by Lim Kim San
Minister for Law
In office1 November 1964 – 12 September 1988
Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew
Preceded by Kenneth Michael Byrne
Succeeded by S. Jayakumar
Member of the Malaysian Parliamentfor Singapore
In office25 November 1964[1] – 9 August 1965
Preceded by Ho See Beng
Succeeded by Position abolished
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore
In office22 October 1963 – 1 November 1964
Deputy Fong Kim Heng[2]
Preceded by George Oehlers
Succeeded by Arumugam Ponnu Rajah
Member of the Singapore Parliamentfor Tanglin SMC
In office21 September 1963 – 17 August 1988
Preceded by Thio Chan Bee
Succeeded by Lew Syn Pau
Personal details
Born Edmund William Barker(1920-12-01)1 December 1920Straits Settlements, British Malaya (now Singapore)
Died 12 April 2001(2001-04-12) (aged 80)Singapore
Cause of death Colon surgery
Resting place Bidadari Cemetery
Political party People's Action Party(1963–1988)
Spouse Gloria Hyacinth Quintal ​ ​(m. 1948⁠–⁠)​
Children 4
Parent(s) Clarence Barker (father)Dorothy Evaline Paterson (mother)
Alma mater St Catharine's College, Cambridge (BA)

Edmund William Barker DUNU SPMJ (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 (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

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Born in Singapore on 1 December 1920, he was a Eurasian Singaporean,[3] 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, 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 sportsperson, Barker was selected to represent Singapore as a member of the national hockey team while he was still a schoolboy. He is also known as a guitar player.[4]

During World War II, Barker travelled to Thailand as part of a medical health unit which was sent to look after Allied POWs working on the Death Railway.

After the war, Barker was awarded the Queen's Scholarship in 1946 to study at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, 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 in London, and returned to Singapore to practise law from 1952 to 1964.[5]

Barker practised 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. Barker was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in 1963, representing Tanglin. 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 of the Legislative Assembly from 1963 to 1964.[6] 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.

During his 25 years in Parliament, Barker also served as Minister for National Development from 1965 to 1975, Minister for Home Affairs 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.[7]

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 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 from 1989 to 1993.

Barker died on 12 April 2001 at 12:40 pm at the National University Hospital, 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.[5]

The E W Barker Institute of Sports (EWBIS) at Raffles Institution is named after him. During his time at RI, he was a school captain, head prefect and champion athlete in 1938.

  1. ^ "PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES DEWAN RA'AYAT (HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES) OFFICIAL REPORT" (PDF). Dewan Rakyat. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Speakers of Parliament". Parliament of Singapore. Archived from the original on 21 January 2020. Scroll to bottom and expand the list of former Deputy Speaker
  3. ^ The New Eurasian, April-June 2010. Archived 27 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Barker, Victoria. "Meet this Barker!". my paper. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  5. ^ a b "E.W Barker". History Blog. 28 August 2007. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  6. ^ "Singapore Parliament, List of Former Speakers". Archived from the original on 21 January 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Barker, Edmund William (E. W. Barker)". National Library Board. Retrieved 10 January 2015.