22 Facts About Dan Tehan

Daniel Thomas Tehan is an Australian politician who was the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment in the Morrison government from 2020 to 2022.

Dan Tehan is a member of the Liberal Party and previously served as Minister for Defence Materiel, Defence Personnel, Veterans' Affairs, Social Services, and Education.

Dan Tehan has been a member of the House of Representatives since the 2010 election, representing the Victorian seat of Wannon.

Dan Tehan's mother was elected to the Parliament of Victoria in 1987 and served as a state government minister, while his father was a country vice-president of the Liberal Party of Australia.

Dan Tehan grew up on the family's farming property near Mansfield, Victoria.

Dan Tehan attended a Catholic primary school and a public high school in country Victoria before completing his secondary education as a boarder at Xavier College, Melbourne.

Dan Tehan worked with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade from 1995 to 1998 and then was a member of the diplomatic service from 1999 to 2001.

Dan Tehan was posted to Mexico City and was involved with Central America and Cuba.

When Vaile became deputy prime minister in 2005 Dan Tehan remained with him as a senior adviser.

Dan Tehan later served as chief of staff to Fran Bailey, the Minister for Small Business and Tourism.

Dan Tehan was elected to the House of Representatives at the 2010 federal election, succeeding David Hawker in the Division of Wannon.

Dan Tehan was encouraged to run for Liberal preselection by Denis Napthine, a family friend, and beat nine other candidates in the ballot despite his lack of prior connections with the area.

In February 2015, Dan Tehan publicly supported Prime Minister Tony Abbott in the lead-up to a motion to spill the leadership of the Liberal Party.

Dan Tehan reportedly supported Abbott in the September 2015 leadership spill which saw him replaced by Malcolm Turnbull.

On 13 February 2016 it was announced that Dan Tehan would be appointed the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, the Minister for Defence Materiel, and the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC following a rearrangement in the First Turnbull Ministry.

Dan Tehan was appointed Minister for Education in the first Morrison Ministry.

Dan Tehan commissioned two reviews into academic freedom following a series of controversies.

In 2020, Dan Tehan announced a policy whereby university course fees would be altered to encourage "job-ready graduates", with fees to be increased for arts, commerce and law but reduced for STEM subjects.

Dan Tehan later proposed that students failing more than half of their courses be denied access to government loans.

Dan Tehan was moved to the trade portfolio in a December 2020 cabinet reshuffle, prompted by the retirement of Mathias Cormann.

Dan Tehan is a member of the centre-right faction of the Liberal Party.

Dan Tehan has five children with his wife Sarah and as of 2016 lived on a small farm near Hamilton, Victoria.