Heng Swee Keat

The Honourable Heng Swee Keat PPA PBS PJG
王瑞杰
Heng in 2012
Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 May 2019 Serving with Lawrence Wong (2022–present)
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Tharman Shanmugaratnam Teo Chee Hean
Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 July 2020
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Chairman of the People's Action Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 26 November 2022
Secretary-General	Lee Hsien Loong
Vice Chairman	Masagos Zulkifli
Preceded by	Gan Kim Yong
Minister for Finance
In office 1 October 2015 – 14 May 2021
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Second Minister	Lawrence Wong Indranee Rajah
Preceded by	Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Succeeded by	Lawrence Wong
Minister for Education
In office 21 May 2011 – 30 September 2015
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Ng Eng Hen
Succeeded by	Ng Chee Meng (Schools) Ong Ye Kung (Higher Education and Skills)
Member of the Singapore Parliament for East Coast GRC (Bedok)
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 July 2020
Preceded by	Lim Swee Say
Member of the Singapore Parliament for Tampines GRC (Tampines Central)
In office 7 May 2011 – 23 June 2020
Preceded by	Sin Boon Ann
Succeeded by	Koh Poh Koon
Personal details
Born	Heng Swee Keat (1961-04-15) 15 April 1961 (age 63)[1] State of Singapore
Political party	People's Action Party
Spouse(s)	Chang Hwee Nee ​ (m. 1988)​
Children	2
Alma mater	Christ's College, Cambridge (MA) Harvard University (MPA)
Signature
Police career
Department	Singapore Police Force
Years of service	1983–1997
Rank	Assistant Commissioner

In this Chinese name, the family name is Heng.

Heng Swee Keat PPA PJG (Chinese: 王瑞杰; pinyin: Wáng Ruìjié; born 15 April 1961)^[1] is a Singaporean politician, former police officer and former civil servant.

He is serving as Deputy Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies. Also, he is the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Bedok part of the East Coast GRC.^[2]

Early life and education

Heng studied at Raffles Institution.^[1] He received a scholarship from the Singapore Police Force in 1980.^[3][4] That allowed him to study economics at Christ College, University of Cambridge in 1983. He also completed a Master's in Public Administration at John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University in 1993.^[1][5]

Career

Early career

After Heng completed his economics studies, he worked in the Singapore Police Force. He left in 1997 as an Assistant Commissioner of Police.^[6][7]

After working in the police, he worked in the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.^[8]

Political career

Heng joined politics in the 2011 general election as part of the People's Action Party (PAP) team contesting in Tampines GRC. PAP's team won with 57.22% of the vote against the National Solidarity Party. Heng became a Member of Parliament for the Tampines Central part of Tampines GRC.^[9]

On 18 May 2011, Heng was made part of the Cabinet as Minister for Education.^[10][11]

During the 2015 general election, Heng led the PAP team contesting in Tampines GRC and won 72.06% of the vote against the National Solidarity Party.^[12]

After the general election, on 1 October 2015, Heng stopped being Minister for Education and became Minister for Finance.^[13][14]

On 1 May 2019, Heng was made Deputy Prime Minister.^[15]

Before the 2020 general election, Heng announced that he would be contesting in East Coast GRC.^[16]

On 10 July 2020, the PAP team led by Heng contesting in East Coast GRC won 53.41% of the vote against the Workers' Party,^[17]. Heng was made Member of Parliament for the Bedok part of East Coast GRC.^[18]

On 27 July 2020, Heng took up another Cabinet job as Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies.^[19]

After the 2020 general election, Heng was most likely the next prime minister.^[20] However, he decided not to become the next Prime Minister on 8 April 2021. He said it was because he was old and not that healthy anymore.^[21][22][23]

Following a Cabinet reshuffle on 15 May 2021, Heng stopped being Minister of Finance.^[24]

Personal life

Heng was born in Singapore as a Chinese. He is of Teochew descent.^[25]

Heng is married to Chang Hwee Nee, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Heritage Board. They have two children.^[26][27][28]

Honours

• Public Administration Medal (PPA) (2001)
• Long Service Medal (PBS) (2008)
• Meritorious Service Medal (PJG) (2010)

References

1. "Heng Swee Keat". Christ's College, Cambridge. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
2. Lai, Linette (2021-04-09). "Next S'pore PM should have 'sufficiently long runway' to master job: Heng Swee Keat". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
3. "Assistant Commissioner of Police's diverse postings are shaping him as a strategic leader". Scholars' Choice. 2023-07-21. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
4. "4 receive SPF overseas scholarships". AsiaOne. 2013-08-22. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
5. "Heng Swee Keat | GIC Board of Directors". GIC. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
6. anthony_chia (2023-09-12). "PMO | DPM Heng Swee Keat at the Forbes Global CEO Conference 2023". Prime Minister's Office Singapore. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
7. "Heng Swee Keat: From handling LKY's red box to S'pore Prime Minister-in-waiting". mothership.sg. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
8. "MAS chief Heng Swee Keat steps down", The Straits Times, 31 March 2011
9. "ELD | 2011 Parliamentary General Election Results". www.eld.gov.sg. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
10. "National conversation on common future welcomed: Goh Chok Tong", The Straits Times, 12 August 2012
11. katherine_chen (2023-11-09). "PMO | Mr HENG Swee Keat". Prime Minister's Office Singapore. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
12. "ELD | 2015 Parliamentary General Election Results". www.eld.gov.sg. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
13. Nurhidayah (28 September 2015). "Transcript of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's Statement at the Press Conference on the new Cabinet Line-Up on 28 September 2015". Prime Minister's Office Singapore. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
14. katherine_chen (2023-11-09). "PMO | Mr HENG Swee Keat". Prime Minister's Office Singapore. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
15. "Heng Swee Keat to be promoted to DPM in Cabinet reshuffle". Channel NewsAsia. 23 April 2019. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
16. Lai, Linette (30 June 2020). "Singapore GE2020: Heng Swee Keat decided to move to East Coast GRC as it cannot afford a 'succession gap'". The Straits Times. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
17. "Singapore ruling party, stung by poll setback, faces succession questions". Reuters. 11 July 2020. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
18. "ELD | 2020 Parliamentary General Election Results". www.eld.gov.sg. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
19. "PMO | Changes to Cabinet and Other Appointments (July 2020)". Prime Minister's Office Singapore. 26 July 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
20. hermesauto (26 January 2018). "Singapore's 4G leaders need more time to gain exposure and experience: Analysts". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
21. Tan, Sumiko (8 April 2021). "DPM Heng Swee Keat steps aside as leader of 4G team, setting back Singapore's succession plan for next PM". The Straits Times. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
22. Tham, Yuen-C (9 April 2021). "Heng Swee Keat's decision catches many by surprise; Pritam Singh pledges to work with next 4G leader". The Straits Times. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
23. "Heng Swee Keat takes himself out of the running for PM, cites short runway, age and health as factors". TODAY. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
24. "PMO | Changes to Cabinet and Other Appointments (April 2021)". Prime Minister's Office Singapore. 23 April 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
25. "For some reason, a large proportion of S'pore's ministers & opposition leaders have been Teochews". mothership.sg. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
26. "Chang Hwee Nee appointed National Heritage Board CEO". 20 March 2017. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
27. "Heng Swee Keat: I protested when I was moved". Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
28. Ang, Jolene (2020-03-09). "DPM Heng Swee Keat pays tribute to his wife in celebration of International Women's Day". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 20 November 2023.

Other websites

• Heng Swee Keat on Parliament of Singapore
• Heng Swee Keat on Singapore Prime Minister's Office

Government offices
Preceded by Koh Yong Guan	Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore 2005 – 2011	Succeeded by Ravi Menon
Political offices
Preceded by Ng Eng Hen	Minister for Education 2011 – 2015	Succeeded by Ng Chee Meng as Minister for Education (Schools)
		Succeeded by Ong Ye Kung as Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills)
Preceded by Tharman Shanmugaratnam	Minister for Finance 2015 – 2021	Succeeded by Lawrence Wong
Preceded by Teo Chee Hean Tharman Shanmugaratnam	Deputy Prime Minister Serving with: Lawrence Wong 2019 – present	Incumbent
Assembly seats
Preceded by Sin Boon Ann	Member of Parliament for Tampines GRC (Tampines Central) 2011 – 2020	Succeeded by Koh Poh Koon
Preceded by Lim Swee Say	Member of Parliament for East Coast GRC (Bedok) 2020 – present	Incumbent