Datuk Dr. Goh Cheng Teik was born and educated in Penang, Malaysia. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Harvard University and a PhD from Leiden University, Holland. He was appointed Lecturer in History and International Relations in the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur in 1967, and served in that capacity until 1974 when he entered politics.

From 1974-1999, Datuk Dr. Goh served as Member of Parliament, Parliamentary Secretary, State Executive Councillor and Deputy Minister. He is a Past President of the Harvard Club of Malaysia, Past President of the Oxford and Cambridge Society of Malaysia, President, Netherlands Alumni Association of Malaysia and Board Member of the East Asia Institute of Cambridge University. He is also a Life Member of the Malaysian Association for American Studies (MAAS).

Datuk Dr. Goh was also formerly the Deputy Minister of Land and Cooperative Development and former Deputy Chief Minister of Penang. He first joined Gerakan in 1972 while he was a lecturer at University of Malaya. In 1974, he was elected as the Member of Parliament for Nibong Tebal and was appointed as one of then prime minister Tun Abdul Razak’s parliamentary secretaries till 1976. He has served as deputy minister with four ministries. He resigned from Gerakan and retired from politics in 1999.